The Next Adventures of the Doctor and his Daughter
by princess-katie
Summary: Sequel to the Adventures of the Doctor and his Daughter. The Doctor travels with his daughter, and Rose. But Lily is broken. After the losing the love of her life, Jack Harkness, Lily must learn to adapt. It won't be easy and there'll be lots of running.
1. Regeneration

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: This is a sequel to **_**The Adventures of the Doctor and his Daughter**_**, which is available on my profile incase anyone hasn't read that and wants to. **

**This is set straight after the end of that story, and starts with the Christmas Invasion .**

**This first chapter is just an introduction from Lily's point of view to explain things, but the rest of the story will be in 3rd person and following the story properly.**

Chapter One

My name is Lily, and I'm not exactly normal.

I know everyone's different and all, but I'm really not normal. For instance, most people my age - at least, my physical age of 24 - are sitting at home watching telly, or they're out with their mates, or maybe they're at their little office jobs down there on Earth.

Not me. I'm in the TARDIS - our alien ship which travels in time and space - with my Dad - a 900 year old Time Lord - and our friend Rose - a 21st century London girl.

You might have heard of my Dad - the Doctor. Though he regenerated about ... ooh ... ten minutes ago, and now he looks different. Good different, I think.

As for me, I'm about 200, give or take a few years, and I've been travelling in time and space for as long as I can remember: just me and Dad with the occasional companion. And a hell of a lot of trouble, but a hell of a lot of fun.

It was all going well too, until recently.

Dad and I met Rose in London, 2005 about a year ago - though it can be hard to keep track of time in the TARDIS. I really like Rose, and she's so much fun to be around. Dad really likes Rose too, and it's obivous that they're _perfect _for each other, even if they haven't quite worked it out, and won't admit it yet.

So we were travelling for a bit ... Face of Boe, Gelth, Slitheen, _damned Daleks, _stupid Game Station ... all that stuff. Rose and Dad were getting closer and it was weird to be around them sometimes ... I felt like a bit of a gooseberry sometimes.

Then I met him.

The man who changed everything for me.

The man who made me feel like no-one else ever had.

The first man I ever loved - the only man I would ever love.

I met Captain Jack Harkness - a handsome, dashing, intelligent, witty, _brilliant _man - in 1941. We were in the Blitz when Rose and I got seperated from my Dad. Basically, we were hanging from a barrage balloon and he saved us. Then I danced with him ontop of a spaceship tethered to Big Ben ... we had champagne, and there was Glenn Miller playing. He was a con man, but he changed and he ended up travelling with us, after I told Dad we couldn't leave him, because he'd have died if we left him.

It was great. Jack and I got on well, and he was all flirty. After a while, we ended up kissing. God, that was a good night ... we were by Cardiff bay. There was champagne there too.

One more night was all it took - late at night, in the swimming pool. It was quite Romeo and Juliet.

Four months later and we were rock solid. It was a secret from Dad and Rose, but it worked for us, and we were happy. In fact, I was estatic. Jack made me feel like no-one else ever had, and ever could. It was love, I know it.

Then of course, it all went wrong.

We ended up on some sick Game Station. People were being taken. Turned out the Daleks were behind it.

I've always been more scared of Daleks than I have anything else, and now I have a readon to hate them too - a Dalek killed my love.

The Daleks invaded and it was almost impossible. One killed him and I got there too late. I held him in my arms not even an hour ago and finally told him I love him, even if he didn't hear it.

The Daleks were finished off because Rose absorbed the Time Vortex. But then Dad had to take it from her, and the energy was too much, so he's just regenerated.

Only, it's going a bit wrong, and he's gone a bit crazy. Now the TARDIS is going to crash land on Earth. _Brilliant._

As soon as we've got this sorted, and Rose has decided if she's staying with us or staying on Eartg, I'm going to make Dad take me back for Jack.

Jack is everything to me, and he's not going to rot on some godforsaken space station.

I want to go back for his body, at least. But I know Dad won't want me to. Dad only found out about our relationship earlier today - or maybe, last night. Just before the Game Station, anyway. He wasn't happy. Not happy at all, so he's convinced that I should try to forget about him.

How do you move on from someone you've loved that much?

How do you get over a broken heart?


	2. The Christmas Invasion

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback and showing so much interest in this story already - I love writing for Lily.**

Chapter Two

The TARDIS tumbled through time and space at full speed, as the Doctor threw his head back and laughed with glee, and Rose and Lily clung to the console tightly.

' We're not going to make it! ' Rose shouted.

' Oh, we will! ' the Doctor told her,' of course we will! I can do anything, me! '

Lily shut her eyes tightly and decided that she didn't want to know if they were going to land safely or not. On some level, she hardly cared - she'd just lost Jack, and Jack meant everything to her. What happened next wouldn't matter if it meant she could be reunited with Jack.

She couldn't deal with this right now - she needed to grieve. She needed to think. She needed something - some time. It was a huge loss and everything just felt ... numb.

She couldn't cope with a crash land, and her Dad's dodgy regeneration too. It was all too much.

There was a sudden jolt and she took a deep breath, but didn't open her eyes. That was followed by another jolt, and then a huge bang. The TARDIS seemed to skid across the ground until it bumped against something and stopped with a shudder.

' Made it! ' the Doctor cheered, throwing his arms in the air.

Lily opened her eyes slowly to see that her Dad had thrown the door open and ran into the land outside, while Rose stood there more hesitantly.

Lily shrugged and followed her Dad out of the TARDIS.

He laughed, throwing his arms out, staring around.

Lily watched him carefully, before noticing Jackie and Mickey approaching them.

' Jackie! ' the Doctor beamed,' Mickey! Blimey! Oh, no. No. No. ' He stumbled back a few steps,' wait a minute. I've got something to say. Something important that I had to tell you ... what was it? '

He wandered back over to them, hands on their shoulders, thinking hard,' No, shush, shush, shush. Oh! '

Jackie and Mickey jumped in alarm, though Lily hardly moved.

' Merry Christmas! ' the Doctor called, before promptly collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Lily rolled her eyes and dropped to his side, taking his hand in hers,' Sorry about him,' she told the two humans,' he's changing - it's going a bit wrong. Hi, by the way. '

Mickey nodded,' Alright? ' while Jackie simply glanced at her. Then she looked back - Lily was usually so cheery - she sort of infuriated Jackie sometimes, though she was coming to accept she and the Doctor more.

' _Are _you alright? ' Jackie asked,' you look a bit peaky. '

Lily shrugged,' If you must know, Jack died today. Jack and I have been going pretty steady for a few months,' she added, trying to stop her voice from breaking.

Jackie didn't get time to reply, as Rose emerged from the TARDIS, and noticed him on the ground.

' What happened? ' she asked,' is he alright? '

' I don't know,' Mickey said,' he just keeled over! Who is he? Where's the Doctor? '

' That's him,' Rose said, nodding towards the new Doctor,' Right in front of you - the Doctor. '

' Yep,' Lily confirmed,' looks a bit different, but it's still him. '

Jackie scoffed,' Don't be stupid - he can't just change his face, can he? What d'you mean "That's the Doctor" Doctor who? '

Lily rolled her eyes - she'd heard that so many times before. ' Never mind that. Just trust me - this is the Doctor. The same man that you've met before. He's ill though. We need to get him somewhere he can rest, and check over him. '

' What about a hospital? ' Mickey asked,' it looks like he's dead! '

' Don't be dense,' Lily said, shaking her head,' he's not dead. Needs taking care of though - his body's going into overload. Hospitals would cause too much trouble. Can we just get him to bed or something? '

Jackie nodded,' I suppose. I've got a spare bed. '

' What are we waiting for then? ' Lily asked, standing up and reaching down to take her Dad's hand, only to find that his dead weight was too much for her,' don't just stand there, Mickey. Give us a hand, will you? '

Mickey nodded and hoisted the Doctor to his feet. He got the Doctor to lean against him, while Lily also wrapped an arm around the Doctor, and the pair of them began to walk the Doctor up the stairs to Jackie's flat.

Lily couldn't think of anything as they walked up to the flat. Now Jack was gone, Rose might end up staying at home, and Dad was out cold, and there was nothing she could do about anything.

Jackie showed Lily to a spare room, and the Doctor was laid down on a bed in the little box room.

' What do we do now? ' Rose asked, looking at Lily.

Lily sighed, running a hand through her hair,' I haven't done anything like this before. He's never been like this. We've not much way of waking him up. We just need to get him into bed to rest. And we need to check his hearbeats. Other than that ... not much we can do. '

Mickey went off to make a drink, while Jackie went to get some pajamas for the Doctor.

Lily changed her Dad into a pair of big white pajamas with blue stripes down them, moving him carefully and wishing things could be different right now. 24 hours ago, everything was perfect - now everything was a mess - _she _was a mess.

When her Dad was tucked up in bed, she sighed and sat on the floor of the bedroom, watching him carefully. No movement. She shook her head and brought her knees to her chest, curling in a defensive shape against the wall.

Rose came in moments later. She said something, but Lily didn't catch it, too many other things running through her mind.

Then Jackie came in and handed Rose a stethoscope.

Lily perked up a bit to watch what was going to happen.

' Tina the Cleaner's got a lodger who's a medical student, so I just took it,' Jackie explained.

Rose looked at Lily, who was unresponsive. Rose sighed and put the stethoscope in her ears, realising she was going to have to do it herself.

' I still say we take him to hospital,' Jackie insisted.

' Can't,' Lily muttered, now losing herself in her grief and knowing she wouldn't be able to do much now. She knew she needed time and she knew there was nothing she could do, right now. It was hopeless.

' They'd lock him up,' Rose told her mother,' they'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race forever. '

Lily watched Rose put the stethoscope to the Doctor's chest. Lily was happy as Rose nodded, and then mvoed the equipment over and repeated the action.

' Both working,' Rose told Lily.

' Good,' Lily said,' then there's nothing else we can do. We wait for him to wake up. It could be up to 48 hours, I think. '

' What d'you mean, both? ' Jackie asked, shaking her head.

' Well, he's got two hearts,' replied Rose, as though it were obvious.

' Oh, don't be stupid! ' Jackie scoffed.

' He has,' Rose shrugged.

' Anything else he's got two of? ' Jackie asked curiously,' because this new face change is quite easy on the eyes, isn't it? '

' Leave him alone,' Rose sighed, before leaving the room.

Jackie left too, but Lily stayed where she was. She could hear Jackie and Rose talking in the other room, but she didn't hear exactly what they were saying - she wasn't trying to hear. Instead she sat on the floor and buried her head in her knees, losing herself in her thoughts.

Jack.

It was all about Jack - where they'd been, what they'd done. How brilliant it felt. Jack was the only thing on her mind.

After God knew how long, Rose appeared at the bedroom door again,' Lily? '

Lily looked up.

Rose smiled,' There's nothing I can do here, right? '

' Nothing,' Lily agreed.

Rose nodded,' Then I'm going to go into town with Mickey - a bit of last minute shopping, since there's nothing else I can be doing. Are you alright on your own? Is there anything I can do? '

Lily sighed and shoook her head,' I'm waiting with Dad. I don't feel like going out anywhere or anything. I don't want to do anything. '

Rose nodded but still didn't leave,' Look ... about Jack ... I'm sorry for loss. '

' It wasn't your fault,' Lily said, shaking her head.

' Yeah, but I know how much he meant to you,' said Rose,' and I'm sorry for your loss. He was a good mate - I'll miss him too. '

Lily didn't give the reply she wanted to - that Rose would never miss Jack like Lily would - but just nodded,' Yeah. You just go and have a good time or something, yeah? '

Rose smiled,' I won't be too long. My mum's in the kitchen if you want anything. '

' See you in a bit,' Lily said, no emotion in her voice.

Rose nodded again and made to leave but then doubled back and grinned at Lily suddenly,' By the way,' she said,' guess who's Prime Minister now? '

Lily shrugged,' I can't remember. '

' Harriet Jones,' Rose grinned,' she was just on the news ... backing the launch on some space probe, or something. '

Lily gave a faint smile,' Good for her,' she muttered.

In the hour, so maybe two, that followed, Lily barely moved. Jackie tried to talk to her, but it was clear that Lily was a broken hearted girl who didn't want to talk, so Jackie soon left her to it.

So there the Time Lady sat, lost in thought, occasionally glancing at her Dad and checking his heart beats, watching as the odd bit of time vortex escaped his mouth and he laid there peacefully.

At one point, the doorbell rang, but Lily barely registered it. It would be one of Jackie's friends ... Lily didn't need to meet them if they were as crazy as Jackie.

In fact, Lily barely moved until she heard raised voices from the living room. It sounded like Rose and Mickey were back. Rose was having an argument with Jackie about something or other, and then everything when quiet. Until there was a scream.

Lily scrambled to her feet, and was in the living room in a flash.

And there was a christmas tree. A tree that was spinning around rapidly, moving towards them, chopping everything in its path.

' Move! ' Lily shouted,' get out! '

They backed into the hallway as Lily reached into her pocket for her laser spanner - it didn't have quite as many settings as the sonic screwdriver, but there were enough.

Only, it wasn't in her pocket. It was in the pocket of her coat, which she'd left in the TARDIS.

Typical. No way to defend themselves.

' What's going on? ' Lily demanded as they shut the living room door on the tree.

Rose was panting for breath,' Weird things - this tree showed up out of no-where! Killer robot santas in town! They want the one thing we've ot that no-one else does! Time Lords! '

' We've got to get out. Now,' Lily said as they entered the bedroom and closed that door too.

' We leave,' Mickey said,' leave the Doctor here. '

' You've got to be kidding,' Lily said,' we're not leaving him anywhere! He might be an idiot sometimes, but he's my Dad! '

Rose sighed and turned to the Doctor,' Wake up! ' she shrieked, as the tree cut through the living room door, and they tired to push a wardrobe in front of the bedroom door.

Rose took the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor's pocket and looked at Lily,' Can't you use this?'

' No! ' Lily called frantically shoving a table in front of the door too,' they're sort of magic - links to only the person who owns them. Kind of so they can't be stolen and used by someone else ... sort of annoying really in times like this! '

Rose thrust the screwdriver into the Doctor's hand, but nothing happened.

' Dad! ' Lily snapped, moving closer and shaking his shoulders.

The Christmas tree finally broke into the bedroom.

' Doctor! ' Rose whispered, by his ear,' we _need _you! '

And it happened just like that

The Doctor raised the sonic screwdriver and got out of the bed, and made the christmas tree explode in one swift motion.

' Remote control,' he said,' but who's controlling it? '

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to her Dad. She looked him up and down, almost uncertainly. It was always odd when he first regenerated - having to get to know a slightly new Dad.

' Dad? ' she asked quietly, looking at him carefully.

The Doctor looked down at him, his face serious, though a small smile broke across it after a moment,' It's still me,' he nodded.

' Dad! ' she repeated cheerily, throwing her arms around him and clinging to him. He was taller this time, and she felt smaller in his arms as she rested against him,' I thought we wouldn't be able to wake you up,' she said.

The Doctor pulled away, looking at her in confusion,' I thought you were angry at me,' he said,' I'm ... forgiven? '

Lily reached out and slapped his arm,' _Don't _mistake concern for my only living relative for forgiveness. You think I'm going to forgive you for that? This isn't the end ... we just don't have time for it now. '

The Doctor pouted, and Lily noticed that he had an almost cute look that none of his previous regenerations had had. Not that it was going on work on her, though.

' There's killer christmas trees! ' Jackie exclaimed.

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his head,' C'mon then - what's going on? '

It was Rose who replied,' Someone left this tree here, and it tried to kill us. And when Mickey and me were in town, there were these killer robot santa things. '

The Doctor sighed, looking at Lily,' You haven't lasered them? Checked out what they are or anything? '

She fixed him with a hard look,' I've got lots of other things in my mind right now,' and then she added more light hearted,' left the spanner in my coat ... in the TARDIS, anyway. '

The Doctor didn't reply, instead looking around at everyone in the room,' Right, I need to check this thing out. We need to get a better look at them. What do they want? '

' Probably you,' Lily said,' all that energy coming off you or something. '

Moments later, they were outside on the balcony to the flat, the Doctor pulling a dressing gown that Jackie had given him around him. Lily followed him, sticking to him closely. Right now she could of hardly anything that made sense, so she decided to stick close to her Dad, even if she was furious at him. They would have that out later - but right now he was the man who could figure this out, and they needed him.

' Look,' Lily said, pointing at the ground as she stuck beside her Dad,' down there! '

And there on the ground were three santas, looking straight up at the Doctor.

' What are they? ' Mickey demanded, as the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver at them. The santas backed away and huddled closer together, before teleporting away.

' They've just gone! ' Mickey laughed,' what sort of rubbish were they? I mean, no offense, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's gonna scare 'em off, are they? '

' They were just pilot fish,' the Doctor told them, before he coughed and threw himself backwards, groaning in pain. He collapsed against the wall and they all rushed to kneel around him.

Lily was scared and the Doctor tried to give her a reassuring smile through his pain before telling everyone,' You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating; bursting with energy.' Some of the vortex escaped through his mouth,' you see? The pilot fish could smell me from a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence - you lot - and carry me off. I could fuel their batteries for a couple of years. '

He lurched forwards, groaning, and his hand found Lily's. She was suprised, but she held onto him firmly.

' My head,' he groaned.

' What is it? ' Rose asked, scared.

' Neuron implosion,' Lily told them as her Dad clung to her hand tighter, causing her to gasp slightly in pain as he crushed against her fingers.

' I need - ' the Doctor started.

Jackie raised her eyebrows,' What do you need? ' she asked frantically.

' I need - ' the Doctor tried again.

' Say it - tell me - tell me! ' Jackie cried.

Lily didn't know what he knew about things, and she didn't know what he needed. She'd never come across a neuron implosion before, even if she knew what one was - she didn't know how to solve it.

' Painkiller? ' Jackie tried.

' I need - ' he spluttered.

' Do you need aspirin? ' Jackie asked, leaning over him.

' I need - ' he tried again.

Jackie waved her hands frantically,' Codeine? Paracetemol? Oh, I dunno - Pepto-Bismal? '

' I need - '

Jackie gasped, voice rising hysterically,' Liquid parafin? Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E? Is it food? Something simple? Uh - a bowl of soup? Soup and sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich? '

' I need you to shut up,' the Doctor gasped.

' Oh, he hasn't changed _that _much, has he? ' Jackie sniffed, looking back at Rose, who sighed.

The Doctor lurched forwards, gripping Lily's hand so tight she thought he was going to break a few of her fingers. He was usually the one having to comfort her, not gripping her hand and needed her there for him.

He panted and Lily rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand. The Doctor panted before stopping long enough to say,' We haven't got much time. If there's Pilot Fish, then - '

Frowning, he reached into the pocket of the dressing gown Jackie had given him,' Why's there an apple in my dressing gown? '

Jackie shrugged,' Oh, that's Howard's. Sorry. '

' He keeps apples in his dressing gown? ' the Doctor asked, shaking his head.

' He gets hungry,' Jackie nodded.

The Doctor just looked at the apple in confusion,' What, he gets hungry in his sleep? '

' Sometimes,' Jackie told him.

The Doctor was about to reply but he shouted with pain and sunk to the ground, Lily kneeling down to his side, bringing an arm around his shoulders and she kept hold of his hand.

' Brain -- collapsing,' he told them, speech being a big effort for him.

' Dad,' Lily said, shaking her head,' don't ... '

' The Pilot Fish ... mean ... there's something ... coming. '

And then he collapsed against the wall, head slumped down against his chest.

Lily bit her lip, thinking of how his posture remined her of Jack's only a few hours ago. Her eyes welled up with tears which she quickly blinked away as she stood up.

' What do we do? ' Mickey asked.

Lily shook her head with a sigh,' I don't know. I don't know what to do ... we just have to wait, I suppose. Get him back in bed and wait for him to come around. Or wait until we hear something about it - just wait. '

Mickey and Lily took him back into Jackie's flat and got him back into bed.

Lily sat down with a cloth which Jackie had given her, and dab at her Dad's forehead as he tossed around restlessly. He was sweaty and harrassed, and she held the cloth to him gently, biting her lip and watching him with worry - she was angry with him, but she knew she'd need him in the end. She always did.

' Lily? ' Rose asked, appearing at the door.

Lily looked up, the tears that had been welling in her eyes threatening to fall again. Jack wasn't here ... Dad wasn't alright ... she was alright.

Rose gave her a kind sort of smile,' Let me do that, yeah? You need some time to yourself and you've barely had a minute. '

Lily scoffed,' How can I have a minute with this going on? This stupid planet's getting in trouble again, and we have to save it. Only, I'm on my own right now. '

Rose moved forwards and shook her head,' At least come and get a drink or something ... it's doing you no good sittin' here and worrying about him. '

Lily relented after further persuasion and went into the kitchen with Rose. Mickey had Jackie's laptop open at the table, while Jackie sat watching the news.

On the news was some scientist who was responsible for sending a new space probe out - Guinevere One. They were talking about it losing contact with the Earth earlier that night, though apparently everything was alright now. They were about to get the first live pictures any minute now on the news.

' Something is coming,' muttered Rose,' what does he mean? How close? '

Lily sighed,' Something bigger than the pilot fish is coming. The pilot fish are like a trial - to see if they can get to Earth. Exactly what comes next, I don't know. '

' How close? ' Rose repeated quietly.

Lily shrugged,' I don't know, but the Pilot Fish don't swim too far from their Daddy, you know? '

' So it's close? ' Rose asked, unsure.

Jackie made a confused noise from in front of the television,' Funny looking rocks,' she said, gesturing at the pictures from Guinevere One. '

Rose frowned, moving closer to the screen,' I don't think that's rocks,' she said.

Lily shook her head as the image became clearer,' That's _not _rocks,' she agreed, kneeling down in front of the television.

The image became clearer still, and an ugly looking creature appeared, roaring at them.

' No,' Lily muttered.

The alien said something, and Rose found that she couldn't understand it, though Lily could.

' What? ' Rose said, shaking her head,' I couldn't understand that ... but the TARDIS translates things inside my head, and it's not working! '

Lily looked at Rose,' The TARDIS is very strongly linked to Dad, and without Dad, it doesn't work properly. The TARDIS is my home too, but she's Dad's ship, so she has a much stronger bond to him than she does to me. I can understand the language that just spoke, because I've spent so much time in the TARDIS, but Dad is part of the circuit ... he's broken and nothing works properly without him. We need him. '

' What did it say? ' Rose asked.

' Sycorax,' replied Lily,' that's their name. '

Rose nodded.

' Damned aliens,' Lily said, shaking her head,' it's always aliens, isn't it? Can't go anywhere without Earth getting itself into trouble. You people are like little children, needing to be saved, all the time. '

Rose frowned, picking up the bitterness in Lily's voice,' Lily,' she said,' there must be something we can do? '

Lily shrugged,' We don't know anything about. And I don't really want to. If Earth and Humans didn't need saving _all the time, _we wouldn't have been on the Game Station. We wouldn't have had to save all of those people from the Daleks and all those people wouldn't have died. _Jack _wouldn't have died. So I'm done with saving everyone. '

She stood up and shook her head,' What's the point anymore? I couldn't save Jack, and I can't save anyone. I don't want to save anyone else, because it just ends up with the people I love - the man I love - getting hurt. '

She looked at them for a last time, before turning away and going back to her Dad's side.

Once she was at her Dad's side, she sighed, sitting on the bed beside him. She forgot about her anger towards him for a bit, and thought of how much she needed him sometimes.

She picked her legs up and swung her body around, laying on her back beside him. She stared at a crack in the ceiling and sighed before picking up his arm and pulling it around her shoulders. She moved closer and hid her face in his shirt. She needed comfort, but there was no-one to give it.

Her Dad's arm felt too warm around her but she didn't care about the discomfort is caused. Instead, she shuffled closer, resting her head against his body, closed her eyes.

It was weird having a new sort of Dad to get used to, but this one immediately made her feel safe. Dad's newest incarnation was warm and friendly looking. Though she knew he'd no doubt get the same protective Dad thing going that he always did, soon enough.

She'd no idea how long she'd been there, before Rose threw the bedroom door open.

' Have you seen what's going on? ' she demanded,' you have to do something! Look at them! '

Lily raised her eyebrows, pulling herself up to a sitting position.

Rose sighed and pointed towards the window,' Look! There are 2 billion people ready to jump - it's like they've been possessed or something! '

Lily sighed and strode over to the window, stopping and throwing the window up. Sticking her head out, she looked around until she saw something unusual - on top of all the highest buildings around, we people stood on the edges, unmoing. Just ... waiting.

Lily looked over her shoulder at Rose,' What's going on? '

Rose shook her head,' _I _don't know. But there's a third of the world's population ready to throw themselves off big tall buildings. Harriet Jones has made a plea on the television - she wants someone to help her find the Doctor. We have to do something. '

Lily ran a hand through her hair and shook her head,' I said I want nothing more to do with these people. '

Rose's expression darkened,' I don't understand,' she said,' I know you're hurting about Jack, but you can't leave all these people to die! What happened to the Lily I know? '

' She's gone! ' Lily replied,' she died when Jack died. This is me now. '

' You're being ridiculous,' Rose said, shaking her head,' you're grieving, you don't know what you're on about. '

Lily shrugged,' This planet isn't my problem anymore,' Lily told her.

Rose groaned,' Lily, the Doctor wouldn't want this, and Jack wouldn't want this. '

There was a loud set of screams outside, and Lily and Rose both rushed to the window. Outisde, hovering over London, was a huge red and black spaceship, casting shadows across the whole city.

' We have to get out of here,' Rose said.

Lily nodded,' I'm going back to the TARDIS. Probably the safest place on Earth right now. '

' You're going to fly away? ' Rose asked.

Lily paused for a moment, before shaking her head,' No. You're right - Jack wouldn't want it, and neither would Dad. But there's nothing I can do to stop this either - I don't know where we could go, and even if I did, my flying's not up to much. Dad's always standing there, telling me what to press and everything. '

Rose bit her lip,' So, we go to the TARDIS until he wakes up, or until there's something we can do. '

' Yeah,' Lily agreed,' I don't even know if she'll fly properly without Dad around and not ... working. Like the translating languages ... maybe the TARDIS won't fly right either. '

Rose didn't reply, and went to the hallway.

' Mum! Mickey! ' she shouted,' Mickey - we're gonna carry the Doctor. Mum, get some food, and some stuff. We're going! '

' Where to? ' asked Mickey, with a frown.

' TARDIS,' Rose said,' The only safe place on Earth right now, huh Lily? '

' But what are we going to do? ' asked Jackie, approaching them.

' Hide,' Lily said, a grin crossing her face,' nothing else we can do, but hide. Hiding can be good sometimes. Big old alien spaceship comes ... best thing to do is hide. '

' Is that it? ' Jackie asked.

Lily raised her eyebrows,' Who's in charge around here? '

Jackie didn't have an answer but then looked at the man in the bed,' The Doctor, usually. '

' Yeah,' Lily agreed,' but since he's not available now, that leaves the person who's spent a couple of centuries travelling with him, and has half his genes. Looks like you're stuck with me. Now lets all get going. '

Soon, Mickey and Lily were carrying the Doctor across the estate, while Jackie and Rose carried bags of food, even though Lily pointed out the TARDIS had a fridge (and Rose pointed out the TARDIS might not be working its magic without the Doctor)

Jackie struggled with some of the bags, fingers losing grip on them, and dropping one of the bags.

As everyone but Jackie made their way into the TARDIS, Jackie was the last in, putting her bags down on the floor, while Lily shut the door after them quickly.

' Can we fly this thing? ' Mickey asked.

Lily sighed,' Dad never let me fly much ... I'm not very good at it. I don't know where we could go, either. '

' So we just sit here? ' asked Mickey.

' That's as good as it gets,' agreed Rose.

Jackie set down a thermal flask,' Right, there we are. Nice cup of tea. '

' Solution to everything,' Rose muttered darkly.

' Stop your moaning,' Jackie insisted,' I'm just going to go back for the rest of the food. '

And she was gone before the could protest. When she was gone, Lily sighed and walked around the console slowly, racking her brains for the thing that solved the neuron implosion her Dad was having.

She frowned when she heard a beeping coming from the console.

' What's that? ' Rose asked.

' Emergency protocol,' Lily said,' the TARDIS is ... is going to move without us being able to stop it. Something's taking hold of this thing ... I'm willing to bet it's the Sycorax. '

' Great,' Rose said, scarcastically.

' Are you gonna be a misery the entire time? ' Mickey asked, shaking his head.

' Yeah,' Rose agreed.

Mickey shrugged,' You should look at it from my point of view - stuck in here with your mum's cooking.'

' Where is she, anyway? ' Rose asked, moving over to the TARDIS door.

Lily's eyes widened in alarm,' No, Rose, don't! Didn't I just say something - '

But Rose had already opened the door and left the TARDIS, leaving Lily to wonder why companions never listened to the Time Lords and Ladies. She began to know how her Dad felt sometimes.

There was a scream from outside and Mickey rushed out there, dropping the thermal flask, the lid coming off, and leaking onto the grilling.

Just as Lily got to the door, it slammed in her face. She groaned, grabbing the handle and trying to shove the door open, to no avail.

' Come on! ' she shouted, hammering on the door,' let me out, Sycorax! '

It seemed like nothing out there could hear her ... or didn't want to listen. She could hear mumbled voices on the other side, but they were too faint to make out any words. She couldn't get out and there was nothing she could do.

She sighed in frustration and sat down on the grilling beside her Dad.

' We need you, Dad,' she said,' things don't work without you. You have to wake up. '

Then she watched as a drop of the dropped tea fell through the grilling, causing steam to rise up. Lily just watched it for a moment before she saw a piece of the time vortex escape from her Dad's mouth.

A slow grin crossed her face when she suddenly remembered.

' Tea! ' she exclaimed to herself, scrambling to her feet,' of course - tea! How could I have forgotten that? It's so obvious! Good old cup of tea! Nice little proper cup of tea! '

She knelt down and grabbed the flask, with the little bit of tea left inside.

She knelt at her Dad's side and brought a hand to his face, pulling his chin down so his lips parted. She prayed that it would work, and put the flask to his lips, tipping it up and waiting for the liquid to touch his lips. She waited until what was in the flask had been emptied and then tossed the flask aside, waiting for it to take effect.

Almost a full minute later, the Doctor stirred.

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times, before sitting up slowly.

' Dad! ' Lily exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and knocking him to the ground.

' Woah,' the Doctor groaned, trying to sit up, hands on his daughter's waist as he pushed her off him gently,' I've just woken up, give me a minute? '

' Sorry,' Lily grinned,' I'm just happy that you're ok. This is brilliant. '

She stood up and grabbed his hand, as he hauled himelf to his feet. She looked him up and down and a smile crossed her face,' Now,' she said,' we've got some serious work to do. The Sycorax are here ... they've got 2 billion people ready to jump from buildings to their deaths. And they might have .... ' she mumbled something he couldn't quite here.

' What? ' the Doctor asked.

She repeated it quietly.

' Lily,' the Doctor said - and Lily noticed the stern way he spoke to her. Yeah, this Dad was going to be just as stern as the others. Probably more, she judged, by the tone of his voice.

' We _might _be aboard the Sycorax ship. They might have taken the ship, taken Mickey and Rose, and locked me in here. '

' What? ' the Doctor demanded,' and you let that happen? '

' There wasn't much of a choice,' Lily replied,' and I've been preoccupied, anyway! '

The Doctor at least looked a bit sheepish about this,' Sorry,' he said,' I wasn't thinking about him. But still ... '

' No time for this,' Lily said, pointing at the door,' we have to do something! '

The Doctor just reached into his pajama pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver,' Problem solved. '

The threw open the doors with glee, and Lily stood behind him, looking out at a ship full of Sycorax, with a scary looking Sycorax leaders the the helm of everything.

' Did you miss me? ' the Doctor asked.

Rose laughed with delight while the Sycorax leader roared furiously and cracked a whip in the Doctor's direction. The Doctor simply caught the end of the whip and pulled it away,' You could have someone's eye out with that. '

The leader roared again and this time charged forwards, his staff held in front of him.

Swiftly, the Doctor ripped the staff from his hands, and snapped it over his knee in one go. He tossed the broken pieces aside and clapped his hands together,' You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy,' he added, pointing a warning finger at the Sycorax.

The Sycorax leader looked at him incredulously but the Doctor simply gave him a stern glare before turning to the people watching them.

Lily followed him, and they stood with Rose, Mickey, Harriet Jones and a man in suit - he seemed to be an assistant to Harriet, or something.

' Hello again,' Harriet nodded to Lily, who returned with a weak smile.

' Mickey! ' the Doctor grinned,' Hello! And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North! Blimey, this is like "This is your life." ' Turning to Rose with a grin, he told her,' Cup of tea, that's all I needed. Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannins. Just the thing for the synapses. '

Rose laughed.

The Doctor lowered his voice seriously,' Now ... first thing's first ... be honest. How do I look? '

' Um ... different,' Rose replied.

' Good different or bad different? ' the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows.

' Just ... different,' Rose answered, unsure.

The Doctor looked at her, deadly serious,' Am I ... _ginger? '_

Lily stopped herself from laughing at him - he was going to be disappointed.

Rose shook her head,' Nah, you're just sort of ... brown. '

The Doctor turned away, put out,' Aww, I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger. ' He turned back to her, pointing at her violently,' And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were - you'd given up on me! Ooh ... that's rude. Is that what sort of man I am now? Rude,' he pondered this,' Rude and not ginger. '

' I'm sorry,' Harriet said, shaking her head,' but who is this? '

' I'm the Doctor,' came the reply, as always.

' But what happened to _my _Doctor? ' Harriet asked,' Or is it just a title that's passed on? '

Lily grinned, almost proudly,' No, that's still him. Literally the same man. Bit better looking though. '

' Hey,' the Doctor said,' don't get cheeky. And as for you, Harriet - Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street, and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens ... wasn't the war ... it was the thought of your mother being on her own. '

' Oh my God,' Harriet said.

The Doctor grinned,' You won the election? '

' Landslide majority,' Harrriet confirmed.

' If I might interrupt,' the Sycorax leader growled.

The Doctor turned towards him,' Right, sorry. Hello, big fella. '

' Who exactly are you? ' the alien asked.

' Well, that's the question,' the Doctor said simply.

' I demand to know who you are! ' the leader hissed.

Lily watched as her Dad started one of his rants,' I don't know! See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I - I literally don't know who I am. It's all untested. ' He walked around everyone as he continued,' Am I funny? Sarcastic? '

Here he looked at Rose and added,' Sexy? ' with a cheeky wink. Rose just smiled shyly and lily rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but smile at the thought of the two of deciding they liked each other - it was only a matter of time. '

The Doctor turned back to everyone,' Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed? Left-handed?A gambler? Fighter? Coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob,' he noticed a red button on the wall and laughed,' and how am I going to react when I see this? A great big threatening button. '

He ran up the stairs to it and stopped in front of it,' A great big threatening buttom which must not be pressed under any circumstances? Some sort of control matrix, right? Hold on, what's feeding it? '

He took the lid off and Lily watched as he noticed a red liquid. He put his finger in it and brought it to his lips,' Blood? Yeah, blood. Human blood, A positive, with just a dash of iron. Then that means ... blood control. You're controlling all the A Positives! Though that leaves us with a great big problem ... 'cos I don't really know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never ever be pressed under any circumstances ... then I just wanna do this. '

He whacked the button as hard as possible.

' You just killed them all! ' Harriet cried out.

The Doctor shrugged and turned to the leader,' What do _you _think, big fella? Are they dead? '

' We allow them to live,' the Sycorax leader replied.

' Allow? ' the Doctor demanded,' you've got no choice! You can't make them no anyhting. Survival instinct's too strong. '

' Blood control was just one form of conquest,' the Sycorax replied,' I could take this world by force. '

' You could, of course you could. But why? ' the Doctor asked, gesturing at the humans and speaking passionately,' These human beings. From the day they arrive on this planet, from blinking step into the sun ... there is more to see that can ever be seen. More to do that can ever - no wait a minute. '

' That's the Lion King! ' Lily called to her Dad.

' Right, sorry everyone,' the Doctor nodded,' But the point still stands: leave them alone. '

' Or what? ' asked the Sycorax.

' Or .... ' the Doctor said, snatching a sword from one of the Sycorax guarding Rose and the others, and raising it into the air,' I challenge you. I take it the sanctified rules of combat still apply? '

' You stand as this world's champion,' the leader told him.

The Doctor grinned,' Thank you. You've just summed me up in one sentence. So you accept? '

' For the planet? ' the leader hissed, holding out his sword.

' The planet,' nodded the Doctor seriously.

' This is madness,' whispered Mickey to Lily,' what if he doesn't win? '

' Then the Sycorax take over Earth,' Lily replied quietly,' but it won't come to that. I .... I know he'll win this. '

Lily prayed that she was right was she watched her Dad and the Sycorax leader right furiously. Swords swung this way and that, as they jumped around, each determined to win. They ended up outside, on the edge of a cliff- Lily sighed. It was always something big and dramatic.

She was feeling confident until she watched the creature knock the Doctor to the ground and take a swing at him. She screamed as his hand was chopping straight off and fell off the edge of the cliff.

' His hand! ' Rose whispered as the Doctor stared up in shock at the Sycorax.

' Yah! Sycorax! ' the Sycorax leader shouted with a triumphant roar.

Lily sighed with despair until she remembered something - it hadn't been 15 hours yet. He'd ... he'd be alright. She thought.

The Doctor simply got up,' And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. Quite by chance, I'm still within the first 15 hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residular cellular energy ... to do this ... '

And then just like that, there was a new hand, surrounded by nanogenes. The hand had grown back and Lily laughed gloriously.

' Witchcraft,' the leader hissed.

' Time Lord,' the Doctor corrected, lifting up is sword,' wanna know the best bit? This new hand ... it's a fightin' hand.'

The Doctor ran at the Sycorax and managed to jab in hard in the stomach. Lily winced as she watched the Sycorax groan. She was suprised when the Doctor stabed him twice more, knocking him to the ground.

' I win,' he said.

' Then kill me,' the Sycorax leader groaned.

' I'll spare your life if you take this champion's command,' the Doctor told him,' leave this planet and never return. '

' Yes,' the Sycorax nodded.

' Swear on the blood of your species,' the Doctor said, angrier than ever, pointing the sword at his neck.

' I swear,' the Sycorax agreed, as the Doctor smiled in a self-satisfied sort of way and loosened his grip on the sword.

' There we are then,' he nodded, tossing the sword aside.

Harriet was the first to make her move, moving forwardd and congratulating the Doctor. Rose followed, putting the dressing gown back on the Doctor, who grinned at her before reaching into the pocket and pulling out an orange.

' Well,' the Doctor said, as they all began to walk back inside,' A satsuma. Doesn't that just about sum Christmas right up? You go through all those presents and then right at the end, there's always one stupid satsuma. Who wants a satsuma? '

Lily heard the defeated Sycorax leader roar as he got to his feet again. Lily was worried for a moment, but the Doctor wasn't fooled. He threw the satsuma at the orange button that would cause the ground to crumble.

' No second chances,' the Doctor said firmly,' I'm that sort of a man now. '

Back in the Sycorax ship, Lily barely listened as the Doctor told the remaining Sycorax to go home. She was too busy thinking about Jack, and thinking about the changes in her Dad. How were they going to be now? Would she forgive him? Could she? God, it was all so confusing. She didn't know what to think ...

Her Dad brought her out of her thoughts by laying a hand on her arm.

' You alright? ' he asked.

She just gave him an incredulous look.

He shook his head,' No, I guess that was a stupid question. '

' Yeah, it was,' Lily nodded.

The Doctor said nothing and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the TARDIS, thyough she didn't recipricate the gesture.

She remained silent as the TARDIS travelled back to the Powell Estate, arms folded and head down. As the Doctor spoke to Harriet, and Rose and Mickey's faith was resotred in the Doctor, while Jackie nattered on about cups of tea, Lily stood there once again, barely listening.

She felt out of the loop, but didn't care.

Her attention was only grabbed when she heard Harriet talk about firing at will.

She looked up just in time to see a ray shot at the Sycorax ship, which was leaving.

The Doctor was furious, and he gave Harriet an earful. Lily was still only half listening, though she couldn't help but smile when the Doctor told Harriet he could bring her government down with 6 words.

She watched with a smirk as he whispered the words to Harriet's assistant, before walking away and leaving her in suspense.

' C'mon,' Jackie said with a smile,' I've been making a bit of Christmas dinner. It won't take too much longer. We can all have some. '

Rose raised her eyebrows,' There was an alien invasion and you were cooking Christmas dinner? '

' Had nothing better to do,' Jackie shrugged.

The Doctor agreed,' Yeah. Why not? I've never done much Christmas dinner, but hey, new man, new customs. I'm not wearing this dressing gown though. You lot go back to the flat and I'll join you whe I've found something decent from the wardrobe. '

Rose, Jackie and Mickey walked on ahead, but Lily didn't move.

' Lils,' the Doctor said gently, leaving it hanging there.

Lily shook her head,' I don't feel like Christmas dinner. Christmas is all happy and everything, but I don't .... I don't feel like it, Dad. '

The Doctor nodded,' It will get better, you know. You're grieving now, but it will get better. '

Lily laughed without humour,' Really? I don't think it will. Not the way I loved him. _Love _him. You don't understand how I felt for him. I'll just stay in my room until you lot finish with dinner. '

' C'mon,' the Doctor said, reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders again,' let's go into the TARDIS for a bit. '

Lily nodded but pushed his arm away lightly,' I'm still mad at you,' she said,' you left him, and I want to go back. '

The Doctor shook his head as they walked towards their ship,' We need to talk. '

**Author's Note: I'm currently deciding how long Lily has to be completely miserable for. Obviously she's always going to be upset about losing Jack, but there was to be a point when she starts feeling a bit better, and enjoying things a bit.**


	3. Talking

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: I will not be doing every episode of series 2, because I don't have the patience either. Instead, I will just pick a few**

Chapter 3

Lily nodded and followed her Dad into the TARDIS, and sighed as he closed the door behind them.

' I don't want to talk to you,' she said,' I just want to be alone. '

' Tough,' the Doctor replied,' I want to talk to you. I want you to get over this. '

' Yeah? ' Lily scoffed,' well, that's not going to happen any time soon. Sorry to disappoint you. '

' Don't be like this,' the Doctor said.

' No,' Lily said, shaking her head and cutting him off,' you made me leave him there, Dad. How do you expect me to feel? I've just lost the man I love, so how about you leave me alone? Go find some clothes or something. '

The Doctor frowned, but then nodded and walked away.

When he was gone, Lily sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She knew she didn't want to do anything else. She knew she wanted to curl up in a ball and get into bed, but she knew she didn't have the energy to go to her room.

Instead, she sat down in the corner of the console room, leaning against the wall of the TARDIS.

She closed her eyes and leant her head against the wall, thinking about everything.

She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, but it felt like a very long time.

She was brought out of her thoughts by someone clearing their throat. She didn't bother looking up or even opening her eyes, instead ignoring him. She heard his footsteps cross the console room, and felt him sit down beside her.

Still she ignored him.

The Doctor said gently,' I hate seeing you so sad. I wish you'd talk to me. '

She opened her eyes slowly, looking straight ahead,' I don't feel like talking. '

' You have to say something,' the Doctor insisted,' you're angry with me. You're upset, you're confused. Tell me about that. '

Lily nodded,' Yeah, I'm angry. He died, and you ... you just left him there! You wouldn't let me go back for him! Now he's gonna rot on some godforsaken little place. His body's onna be there, forever! How do you think that makes me feel? '

' Lily,' the Doctor said,' Rose was about to die from absorbing the time vortex ... then I was regenerating ... there was so much going on, and I didn't have time to think about Jack. '

' But there's time to think about him now,' Lily said, turning to face him,' why can't we go back for him? I know we can't cross our timeline to save him, but we could at least go back for his body, in the time after we've left. That wouldn't cross the timeline. '

' It's too much of a risk,' the Doctor protested.

' I don't care,' Lily said,' I want to risk it for him. '

' I don't think we _can _risk it,' protested the Doctor,' you know the TARDIS' travelling mechanism isn't perfect - how many times have we ended up somewhere we didn't plan on going? Mixing up 1941 with 1914, or ended up 100 miles North of where we wanted to be. '

' So? '

' So,' the Doctor continued,' the slightest slip could be catastrophic. If we end up just 10 minutes out of where we want to be, we'll be in the middle of all the fighting, all the Daleks, and we can't do that. '

Lily bit her lip,' We could. Then we could find a way to wipe out the Daleks before htey ill Jack. Maybe we could ... '

She trailed off when she saw the Doctor's expression. ' Don't look at me like that! ' she snapped,' I know it sounds crazy but you can do anything. You could do this Dad! For me! '

' I can't,' the Doctor said, looking truly sorry.

Lily groaned in frustration,' It just feels so ... wrong. We can usually do anything, and this time, we can't. I really hate that. '

' I know,' the Doctor nodded, reaching out to wrap an arm around her shoulders,' but we can't always save everyone, as much as we might want to. Jack's gone and it needs to stay that way. '

' Needs to? ' Lily asked with a frown,' like there's a choice? '

The Doctor quickly shook his head,' Of course there isn't. He's ... he's gone. '

Lily sniffed,' Yeah. ' she sighed,' God, it's hard to accept. Jack always seemed so invincible, and he was always there. I expect to see him there when I turn around, just grinning stupidly. '

The Doctor watched her carefully, waiting to see how she was feeling now. She certainly looked less angry now, but she was going to be devasted now.

He knew perfectly well that Jack wasn't dead, but he thought it was the best thing for his daughter, if she forgot about Jack. He had been convinced that Jack wasn't right for her, and he thought he'd be wrong for her. His daughter deserved someone better ... someone who wouldn't end up hurting her. Sure, she was grieving now, but she'd get over it eventually. This was just some stupid crush. She'd been fine in a few weeks.

Lily cleared her throat and looked at her Dad,' I'm sorry,' she said.

' What for? ' he asked in confusion.

' Taking everything out on you,' Lily replied,' it kind of ... I _do _still want to go back, but I know we can't do. I just want him back so much, and ... and I won't ever see him again. I don't know how I'm going to move on from this. '

' You will do,' the Doctor said,' you'll get over it and then everything will be ... it will all be okay. '

' I doubt that,' Lily said, shaking her head,' but thanks for the sentiment. '

The Doctor nodded, before standing up and offering her his hand. She looked at his hand for a moment before accepting it, and allowing him to pull her to her feet.

She stood in front of him, and only just realised the difference in his outfit.

She smiled slightly, seeing what he was wearing. He was wearing a pinstriped suit and tie with a long brown trenchcoat.

She reached out and laid her hands on his jacket, tugging down on it with a slight smile.

' You look good, Dad,' she said.

The Doctor nodded,' Why, thank you. '

Lily looked him up and down before shaking her head at him,' New dad. It's weird. '

He shrugged,' Good weird though? '

She nodded,' I guess so. '

The Doctor nodded,' That's my girl. '

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her warmly. She was hesitant, but rested her head against him and clung to him tightly.


	4. New Earth

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Chapter Four - New Earth

Lily stood in the TARDIS, running a hand over the console. She sighed sadly, waiting for Rose to say her goodbyes to Mickey and Jackie, so they could leave.

She hadn't eaten Christmas dinner with everyone else. Instead, she sat down in her bedroom, replaying all of her memories in her head. The first time she met him ... all the times they spent flirting ... the first time they kissed ... when they got together ... all the kisses since ... Jack, Jack, Jack.

She'd gotten changed too. She realised she'd been wearing the same outfit since the Game Station. Gone was her bright red t-shirt, replaced with a rather plain black blouse, which had white pinstripes down it. She wore a pair of black jeans with silver ankle boots. Her short purple jacket was replaced with a long trench coat. It was black and almost reached the groudn. She wore it buttoned up over the rest of her clothes. Yes, this coat would be her new staple.

The Doctor had come back and tried to get her to leave her room. She agreed in the end, and now stood in the control room.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets and listened to the hum of the controls.

She watched as her Dad pulled on one of the levers and beamed proudly at the engines. She wished she could have the same enthusiasm, but it didn't seem right to be so happy when she'd just lost him.

The door opened and Lily turned to see Rose dropping her rucksack on the grilling.

She allowed a slight smile to cross her face, but the Doctor beamed, and Rose grinned back.

' Where are we going then? ' Rose asked.

The Doctor grinned, pulling on one of the levers with extra vigour,' Further than we've ever gone before. '

' Where? ' Lily asked quietly.

The Doctor just threw her a quick wink,' Wait and see. '

Lily nodded, and said nothing more about it. She knew where she wanted to go, but she also knew they wouldn't be going there, so she resigned herself to going somewhere else. It wouldn't matter where it was becuase she wouldn't be able to share it with the person she wanted to.

When the TARDIS arrived, Lily was the first out, and she didn't recognise where they were. Or at least, the thought she'd heard about it, but she hadn't been.

They were on top of a windy stretch of grass, looking over a futuristic city, with ships in the sky zooming to and fro.

The Doctor grinned, "It's the year five bilion and twenty three. We're in the galaxy ... Lily? "

Lily nodded, " The galaxy M87. This ... is New Earth. "

" Not bad. Not bad at all, " the Doctor nodded.

Rose laughed with excitement, " I'll never get used ot this. Different ground beneath my feet. It's amazing! "

The Doctor laughed and bent down to the ground, where he pulled some of the grass from the ground, and offered it out to Rose.

" Apple grass," he told her.

" Apple grass?" Rose asked with a smile.

"Apple grass," Lily interjected," it's quite nice really. Another century or two and they'll even have strawberry and pineapple grass. "

Rose gazed at the Doctor with a wide smile, " This is beautiful. Can I just say ... " she started, linking her arm through his, " travelling with you ..." she reached out and laid a hand on Lily's shoulder, " and you too ... I just love it."

Lily felt this moment was more about the Doctor and Rose, but she smiled anyway. As she watched her Dad beam back at Rose, her smile faded slightly, and she began to feel like the gooseberry again.

"Me too," the Doctor said, before looking at Lily and waiting for her answer.

" Yeah," Lily agreed, though she didn't feel so enthusiastic about anything right now.

"C'mon," the Doctor said, looking from Lily to Rose and back again," let's get going."

He set off running down the hill, and Rose laughed gleefully before following him. Lily sighed and watched them run away in such a carefree and happy way. She told herself to get on with things, and followed them down the hill. As she ran, her black trench coat flew out behind her, and she decided that this was very good for running in ... there was always lots of running ... yeah, this coat would be good.

When she got to the bottom of the hill, the Doctor laughed and sank to the ground, lying there with a foolish grin on his face. Rose laughed and sat down on the apple grass too and Lily followed suit.

Lily sat cross legged as Rose and the Doctor sprawled out across the round.

" When did it become like this? How can there be a _New _Earth? " asked Rose.

The Doctor grinned, looking up at the skies, " So ... the year five billion - the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted."

" We went there," Lily told Rose, " you remember - Cassandra. Face of Boe. Moxx of Balhoon and all that. "

Rose nodded, " I remember. " She looked at the Doctor, " That was our first date. "

" We had chips! " the Doctor added with a grin, turning to look at her.

Lily couldn't help but feel down - they were so cute together. She really wanted them to be happy, but she couldn't stand seeing them all carefree and happy while she was so miserable. As they spoke of their first adventure, she thought of her own first adventure with Jack - a rescue from the middle of an air raid, champagne, dancing. Sigh.

" Anyway," the Doctor continued, " planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. As soon as the Earth burns up - oh yeah, they get all nostalgic - big revival movement. Then they find this place. Same orbit as the Earth, same air, same size ... lovely. Call goes out, humans move in! "

" Whatr's the city called? " asked Rose curiously.

" New New York," the Doctor replied.

Rose shook her head, " Oh come _on,' _she protested.

" It is! It's the city of New New York," he pause,d thinking and then added, " strictly speaking, it's the 15th New York since the original. So that makes it, New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. "

" That's only 14, " Lily told him.

The Doctor rolled his eyes," Like you were actually counting? " Noticing Rose looking at him with a strange look, he asked, " What? '

" You're just so different, " Rose told him.

" New New Doctor, " the Doctor grinned.

Lily added, " Technically, it's the New New New New, New New - "

The Doctor swatted at her arm to shut her up, " Oh, never mind that," he said, rolling his eyes fondly.

Rose smiled at the two of them, and then stood up, looking down at them, " Can we go and visit New New York - so good that they named it twice? "

The Doctor also get up, and Lily followed their lead. The Doctor nodded towards a large building off the edge of the coast, in the distance, " Well, I thought we might go there first. "

" Why? What is it? " asked Rose.

Lily looked at the building, taking in what it was, before answering, " That green moon on the side - that's the universal symbol for hospitals. But why? " she added looking at her Dad.

He pulled out the psychic paper and held it out, " I got a message. 'Ward 26. Please come.' Looks like someone wants to see me. "

Lily pouted, " Why didn't they send me a message? I've got paper too. "

The Doctor shrugged, " Because they don't want to see you ... or because they knew if I came, you'd come. "

" That's nice," Lily muttered, " they just assume that I'll be wherever you are? I might not always travel with you. "

The Doctor didn't reply, hoping she'd always be there. Though if she ever found out about him lying to her ... she'd be furious to say the least. He felt like he'd done the right thing, but he didn't think she'd see it that way.

Rose sighed and linked her arm through the Doctor's," C'mon then. Let's go buy some grapes or something. "

Once they were at the hospital, Lily looked around in sadness. Hospitals meant sick people. Sick people could lead to dead people. Dead people included Jack. This was ridiculous - everything lead back to Jack. As her thoughts turned to him now and he was all she could think about, she didn't pay attention t othe little shop, or the cat nurses, or anything, until her Dad touched her arm.

She saw that they were now in front of the lifts, although she didn't remember getting there ... she'd just followed he and Rose without even thinking about it.

She got into the lift on her own, waiting for the water and the disinfectant.

She closed her eyes when the water came, and she didn't open them again until the blow driers had finished, and the lift came to a stop.

She ran a hand through her dark hair, which she was letting grow longer - it was down just past her shoulders now. She let her hand fall down by her side as the doors opened, and she strode out, looking at the lifts beside her.

Her Dad was standing there on her left, though Rose wasn't there yet.

The Doctor grinned at her, " C'mon then. Let's go meet the patient, shall we? "

" What about Rose? Where is she? " asked Lily, looking at her Dad.

The Doctor shrugged and reached out with a hand. Lily looked down at his hand, and slid her hand into his - she neded the comfort, and he was always there. Her fingers interlocked into his, and she didn't care that she was a grown woman - she was still Daddy's girl.

A cat nurse looked at them, and smiled, " I am Sister Jatt. Can I help you? "

The Doctor grinned, " I'm the Doctor and this is my -" He broke off, thinking about what he could introduce her as.

He didn't get the chance, as the Sister nodded and asked, " Your wife? "

Lily almost choked and shook her head vigorously, " He's my uncle, " she lied, " and we're here to visit someone. "

The Doctor sighed s he told the Sister, " I sort of got this message, and I don't actually know who I'm supposed to be seeing. I'm just going to have to wander around until I see someone I recognise. "

The cat nurse nodded, " Allow me to accompany you, Sir, Miss. "

They began to follow her down the ward, and the Doctor gave his daughter a quick grin, which she returned. They'd been in silence for a few moments, before the Doctor's talkative nature got the better of him, and he told Sister Jatt, " Nice place. No shop though, downstairs. I'd have a shop. Not a big one - just a shop. So people can shop. "

" The hospital is a place of healing, " Sister Jatt said, suprised.

" A shop does some people the world of good, " the Doctor said, " Not me ... other people. "

Lily rolled her eyes at him and looked around as they walked through the ward. There was a bright red man in one bed. In the next bed man was man who looked like he was half turned to stone.

" Excuse me! " an angry little woman said as she noticed Lily and the Doctor looking at the man, " members of the public can only look upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the senate of New New York. "

The Doctor ignored her and nodded at the Duke, " That's Petrifold Regression, right? "

" I'm dying, sir," the Duke agreed, " A lifetime of charity and abstinence, and it all ends like this. "

The woman's lips tightened, " Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance. "

The Duke suddenly gasped, " Frau Clovis! "

The woman rushed to his side, and glared at Sister Jatt, " Sister Jatt! " she shouted, outraged, " A little privacy, please! "

As the curtains were drawn, Lily and the Doctor were led away by the sister.

" He'll be up on his feet in no time, " Sister Jatt told them.

" Seriously? " lily asked with a frown.

The Doctor shook his head, " He's turning to stone. There won't be a cure for another ... oh, 1000 years. He might be up and about, but only as a statue. "

" Have faith in the sisterhood," Sister Jatt said, though Lily was skeptical, but distracted by the sister asking if they recognised anyone.

Lily looked around again and smiled when she saw someone she recognised. There, was the Fae of Boe in his glas jar, staring at them from across the room.

" There! " Lily said, pointing with a smile.

The Doctor shushed her, " We're in a hospital, Lils. " he told her, though he was equally excited and intruiged about who they were here to meet.

" Novice Hame," Sister Jatt said, " I trust I can leave this woman and this gentleman in your care? "

When the Sister had left, Lily let go of her Dad's hand and moved forwards, kneeling before the Fac of Boe and putting a hand on the glass jar. The novice looked at them for a moment and told them, " I'm afraid that the Face of Boe is asleep. That's all he tends to do these days. Are you a friend ... or? "

The Doctor shrugged, " We just met on Platform One, once. What's wrong with him? "

The novice sighed, " I'm sorry. I thought you knew - the Face of Boe is dying. "

Lily looked around sharply, " Dying? " she demanded, before looking at the Face of Boe again and skaing her head - death. Death seemed to be everywhere around them. Around _her._

"Dying of what? " the Doctor asked.

"Old age," came the reply, " it's the one thing we can't cure here. He's thousands of years old. Some say millions. Although, that's impossible. "

The Doctor smiled," I like impossible, " he said.

He too knelt before the Face of Boe, and he laid his hand against the jar, " I'm here. I look a bit different, but it's still me. It's the Doctor. "

Lily glanced at the Doctor and then at the Face of Boe, " I'm here too. It's Lily. "

They sat in silence for a few moments until the Doctor got to his feet and told Lily, " I should find Rose. I'm going to call her, but you stay here, right? "

Lily shrugged, " Like I'm going to go anywhere? Hospitals creep me out. "

The Doctor rolled his eyes, " Less of the attitiude, young lady, " he said, "you might be upset, but there's no need to take it out on me. "

Lily thought that she could take it out on him if she wanted to, but didn't reply. Instead, she gave him a cold look. The Doctor saw her sadness, and sighed, kneeling down again to be at her level, and kissing her forehead.

He tucked some of her hair behind her ear and then smiled before standing up, " You'll get through this, and then you'll be fine, " he told her.

She didn't believe him, but she didn't reply, only watching as he walked away. She watched him pull out his phone and call Rose, and while he was talking to their friend, she sighed.

She pulled her feet out from under her and sat down cross legged, in front of the Face of Boe, looking up at him. There was something so magical about the old creature - the fact that he'd lived for so long, there were so many legends, and now he wanted to see she and the Doctor.

She sat there for a good five minutes, watching the Face of Boe sleep.

Looking up at the Face, she said sadly, after a while " So. They tell me you're dying, but I don't believe it. Someone who's lived as long as you can't die, right? You're supposed to be invincible, aren't you? "

No reply, though, as the Face of Boe continued to sleep.

Lily smiled and shook her head, continuing, " Then again, I thought Jack was invincible too, and look what happened to him. He always seemed so full of life, and so out there, and then he was gone. " She shook her head, " I don't know why I'm telling you this - you can't even hear this - you're asleep, but it's good to talk to someone who's not going to give me all this comforting rubbish. Becuase it is rubbish, you know. He's gone, and I'm not suddenly going to feel better about it. "

The Face of Boe opened his old tired eyes and looked at her.

Lily shook her head, " I love that idiot. He's an arrogant, overconfident idiot, but he's perfect, and he's mine. He _was _mine, at least. "

And for a moment, she thought that the Face of Boe winked at her.

She shook her head, telling herself she must have been imagining things. She was distracted however, by a figure shadowing beside her.

She looked up when she saw the Doctor standing there, looking quite serious.

He reached down and took her hand, pulling her to her feet.

" What's going on? " she asked, " Did you find Rose? And did you find out why Boe wants us here? "

The Doctor nodded, " Yeah, Rose is on her way up. And Novice Hame was telling me an old legend about the Face of Boe - apparently, when his days are ending, he will empart a secret to a wandering man. The lonely God. "

Lily raised her eyebrows, "You think _you're_ that guy? "

The Doctor shrugged, "I think we've got bigger problems than that. There's something going on with the nurses here - something that they're trying to keep a secret. They're way advanced - they just _cured _the Duke's Petrifold Regression. "

" That's not possible," Lily said with a frown.

" Exactly," agreed the Doctor, "And I've looked around at some of the other patients - there's a few of them that are getting better against the impossibilities. "

Lily was about to reply when he grinned and looked over her shoulder. Lily turned around and saw that Rose was leaving on of the lifts.

" There you are! " the Doctor said with a grin, approaching her, " come and look at the patient. "

Lily stood in the middle of the ward and watched as the Doctor showed Rose a man with red skin - should take two years to cure, but took two days. Another man who should be ded within ten minutes of getting his disease, but was fine.

She walked with them as they walked down the ward.

" I need to find a terminal, " the Doctor said, " I have to see how this is done. If they've got the best medicine in the world, then why are they keeping this such a secret? "

" I can't Adam and Eve it, " Rose said, though her voice sounded veyr odd.

Lily frowned at Rose and nudged her Dad, who also seemed to have noticed, " What's with the voice? " he asked her.

Rose shrugged with a smile, " I don't know ... just larking about ... New Earth, New ... me. "

Lily noticed Rose look the Doctor up and down in a particularly flirty manner, before moving forwards. Rose wasnow standing rather close to the Doctor, and Lily was wrong footed, confused. She took a step backwards, and another few steps away from her Dad, as Rose laid a hand on the Doctor's head.

The next thing she knew, Rose had pulled the Doctor's head forwards and planted a big kiss right on his lips. Lily was stunned to say the least as she watched them share an passionate kiss.

When Rose broke away, she was breathless, and the Doctor was shocked, but pleased. Lily was nothing more than shocked, and a little upset about them flaunting their relationship while she had just lose hers.

Rose grinned at him and walked way.

Lily folded her arms and looked at her Dad, " What was _that? " _she demanded, " I'm all for the two of you getting together - you'd make a cute couple, but do you have to kiss right in front of me? Do - '

The Doctor cut her off by pointing in the direction Rose had just left in, " Terminal's that way, I think," he said.

Lily rolled her eyes and went off that way, trying to block what she'd just seen out of her mind - she didn't need to see her Dad snogging somewhere, even if she had to accept that her Dad was better looking than he had been before.

They found the terminal with ease, and the three were gathered around a computer.

' Hmmm,' the Doctor said, checking through one of the screens, Lily leaning over his shoulder, " Nope ... nothing odd ... surgery ... post-op ... nano-dentistry ... no sign of a shop: they should have a shop ... "

" No, it's missing something else, " Rose told them, "when I was downstairs, those cat/nun/nurse things were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it ...? "

" That's a good point, " Lily nodded, " why would they hide a whole department? "

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the computer, while Rose pouted, " It's got to be in there somewhere. Search the sub-frame. "

" Well, what if the sub-frame's locked? " the Doctor asked.

" Try the installation protocol, " Rose told him.

Lily looked at Rose in suprise - since when did Rose know anything about any of this? She hadn't wanted to be part of anything going on at the hospital, but she had to admit that something was going on here, and it wasn't right. Plus, Rose was acting very odd, and the Face of boe wanted to see them.

She watched as the Doctor scanned the computer with his sonic screwdriver, and with the click of one button, the entire wall moved and revealed a secret corridor behind it.

Rose smiled and walked straight into it. Lily and the Doctor exchanged a confuse dlook, knowing something wasn't right about her, but they followed her anyway.

Lily sighed as they walked down metal steps - as usual, they were caught in the middle of something strange. As they walked through the intensive care unit, they found themselves in a huge cave-like chamber, with row upon row of murky green doors.

The Doctor opened one of the doors with his screwdriver, and a man covered in boils and surrounded in smoke stared back at them.

" That's disgusting! " Rose exclaimed, " what's wrong with him? "

" Jesus, " Lily muttered to herself.

The Doctor was equally horrified, " I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. "

Lily kept close to her Dad as he opened another door and there was a woman inside, in the exact same conditions.

" What disease is that? " Rose asked, as they looked at a third man.

The Doctor shook his head in disgust, " All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy - they've been infected with everything. "

" What about us? Are we safe? "

" We're fine, the air's sterile, " the Doctor reassured her, " just don't touch them. "

" This is sick, " Lily hissed as they walked down the corridor, " how could anyone do this? "

The Doctor nodded, " I know, " he looked at Rose, and told her, " These aren't patients. They were born sick - meant to be sick. They exsist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research lab. A Human farm. "

" It is for the greater good, " a voice at the end of the tunnel replied.

Lily whipped around quickly, and saw that Novice Hame was standing there, glaring at them with her bright green cat eyes, a glint of danger in them.

" Novice Hame, " the Doctor said with a frown, " when you took your vows, did you agree to do this? "

" The Sisterhood has sworn to help, " the Novice replied.

" What - by killing?! " demanded the Doctor angrily. Lily realised that this regeneration of her Dad was much angrier and prone to shouting than the last. She tried to lay a hand on his arm to calm him, but he was still glaring at the cat/nurse/nun.

" They're not real people, " the Novice said gently, " they're specially grown and have to real exsistance. "

The Doctor moved from Lily's grip and advanced towards Novice Hame dangerously, " What's the turnover? Hmm? Thousand a day? How many thousand? For how many years? How long? How many? "

" Mankind needed us, " Novice Hame replied, as the Dotor and Lily glared at her hatefully, " They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try though - we tried everything. Everything, but the results were too slow. In the end, the Sisterhood grew their own flesh. That's all they are - flesh. "

" These people are alive, " Lily said quietly, " you can't just do this to someone's life. "

Novice Hame shook her head, " But think of those Humans out there ... healthy ... happy, because of us. "

" If they live because of this, then their lives are worthless, " the Doctor told her.

" But who are _you _to decide that? " challenged Hame.

The Doctor took another step forward, his tone lowering, " I'm the Doctor, and if you don't like that ... if you want to take that to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with me. "

Rose also moved forwards, peering over the Doctor's shoulder, " Just to confirm ... none of the Humans in the city know about this? "

Nove Hame nodded, " We thought it best not to tell them. "

" Hold on, " the Doctor said, shaking his head, " I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. But the one thing I can't understand - what have you done to Rose? "

" I don't know what you mean, " Novice Hame replied.

Lily was glad that the Doctor had noticed, and adressed the issue, but also worried about what was going on with Rose.

The Doctor was deadly quiet as he said, " And I'm being very very calm. You wanna be aware of that - very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is because the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to hers, I want it reversing. "

" We haven't done anything, " the Novice told him.

" I'm perfectly fine, " Rose said with a strange sort of smile.

The Doctor turned back to Novice Hame, " These people are dying, and Rose would care. "

" Oh, alright then, clever clogs, " Rose sighed, spinning him around to face her, and grabbing Lily's arm too. She smirked at Lily, before turning to the Doctor and looking him up and down flirtatiously, running a hand across his chest.

" What's happened to you? " Lily asked.

Rose threw back her head and laughed, " I knew something was going on at the hospital and I needed this body, and the Doctor's mind to work it out. I suppose your body would have done just as well ... and you mind is almost as good as his ... but I just got to this cockney chav first. "

" Who _are _you? " the Doctor asked.

Rose laughed and pulled on his tie, bringing him closer to her, where she whispered something in his ear that Lily missed.

What she didn't miss was the Doctor shouting, " Cassandra?! "

" Cassandra? " echoed Lily with confusion.

She didn't have time to ask anything else, as she suddenly felt dizzy. Her legs gave way as she saw Rose/Cassandra spray something in her direction.

The next thing she knew, she was somewhere else. She opened her eyes and saw that she was inside one of the intensive care units down the corridor.

" Hey! " she shouted, " let me out! Dad! Where are you? "

Although she couldn't see him, she could hear him, " I'm in here, " he replied, banging on the wall, " I'm in the unit next to you. "

" Great, " Lily sighed, shaking her head.

There was a tinkling laugh, and Cassandra stood in front of them, " Well, well, well, " she said, looking between Lily and the Doctor for a few times, " Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And your little girl too. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with top-ups every ten minutes. You've got about three minutes. Good luck. "

" Let Rose go! " the Doctor shouted.

" Oh, I will, " Cassandra agreed, " As soon as I've found someone younger and less common, I'll throw this one away with the waste. "

" And Lily! " the Doctor shouted, " let Lily go. "

Cassandra rolled her eyes dramatically, " Oh, for goodness' sake. Your attachment to your little girl is pathetic. You shouldn't surround yourself with friends and this silly daughter, because you'll only be hurt when something happens to them. You don't need them. "

" Let Lily out, " the Doctor repeated.

" I don't think so, " replied Cassandra, " enjoy. "

She turned away, and Lily could hear her talking to Sister Jatt and Matron Casp down the corridor, though she couldn't make out quite what they were saying, much to her annoyance.

She tried hard to listen, but it wasn't happening. But a couple of minutes later, the door to her cell sprung open. She sighed in relief and threw herself in the corridor, looking for her Dad.

His arms were around her before she'd even noticed him, and he kissed her forehead quickly. She slid her hand into his, their fingers interlocking tightly.

But there was no time for anything else, since not only had they been released, but every person in the units.

" What have you done?! " the Doctor shouted.

Cassandra in Rose's body laughed, " Gave the system a shot of adrenaline to wake them up. See ya! "

Cassandra ran off, and her assistant, Chip, followed her.

As Cassandra ran off, the Doctor looked after her in determination, and set off running after her, forcing Lily to run too, though she hadn't been expecting it. They ran as fast as they could, chasing after Cassandra. The Doctor refused to let go of Lily's hand, worried he'd end up losing her and she'd get turned into one of those things.

The infected people started to leave their cells, and staggered towards them.

One of them reached Sister Jatt and touched her lightly. The next second, she'd broken out in boils - she was one of them now. That was the fate they risked now. Brilliant.

As more and more of the infected people broke out of their cells, the Doctor looked at Rose/Cassandra, " What the hell have you done? "

" It wasn't me, " protested Cassandra.

" One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want Rose's body safe, Cassandra! We've got to go down! " he told them, looking down the stairs.

" But there's thousands of them! " Cassandra protested.

" Yeah - now run! Down the stairs! Run! Down! " the Doctor yelled, letting go of Lily's hand and laying a hand in the small of her back, pushing her towards the stairs.

They were running down the stairs as fast as possible - Chip, Cassandra in Rose's body, Lily and the Doctor. The infected people followed them, ars outstretched, though they were quite a way behind.

As they descended the last flight of stairs, they burst through a door there, and into the cellar.

Lily frantically tried to operate the lifts, but the Doctor called out to her, " The lifts have stopped working, they've closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving. "

Cassandra shook her (Rose's) head and pointed one way, " This way! "

They ran the other way down the corridor, the infected people getting closer and closer. It was going to take a great deal of effort to outrun them now.

As they moved, Chip fell behind.

" Someone will touch him and turn him! " the Doctor said, turning back.

" Leave him!" Cassandra shouted, grabbing his arm, " he's only a clone thing - he's only got hal a life. "

" Mistress!" Chip cried pitifully.

Cassandra started running away, and the Doctor shook his head at Chip, "I'm sorry, but I can't let her get away. "

He grabbed Lily's hand as started to run away, dashing after Cassandra as fast as he could. They darted down the corridor, running this way and that until they found somewhere safer. They found themselves in a room with a door - they slammed the door as fast and as hard as possible.

" We're trapped! " Cassandra in Rose's body exclaimed, "what are we going to do? "

" Well for starters, you're going to leave that body," the Doctor demanded, before looking up at a machine in the room which Cassandra had used to put herself in Rose's body, " that is banned on every planet. You're compressing Rose to death! "

" But I've got nowhere to go," Cassandra protested, " my original skin is dead. "

" Not my problem, " the Doctor shrugged, " You can float as atoms in the air - now get out of her, now! "

Cassandra smirked and then nodded, " If you insist ... "

There was a cloud of smoke, and the next thing Lily knew, she couldn't move. Or at least, her body was moving and she wasn't in control of it. Her hands ran down her body, but she wasn't the one moving them. Then she spoke and she wasn't the one speaking.

" Oh dear, this one's not much fun. She's got a very gloomy mind, hasn't she? "

" Get out of her! " the Doctor shouted, too preoccupied to notice that Rose was looking around in confusion, and throwing her arms around as she realised that she had control of herself again.

Cassandra in Lily's body laughed - a sound that was horrible to Lily, pushed to the back of her own mind.

" This annoys you even more than my taking over that little chav's body did, " Cassandra laughed, " I think I might have to stay in here a while longer. "

" Hey! " Rose protested, while the Doctor glared at Cassandra.

" You leave my daughter alone, or I'll throw you out there to those infected people myself, " the Doctor said menacingly.

Cassandra pouted through Lily's lips, " But this is fun ... it annoys you so much. Although I don't like all the morngy, moping mind. She'd not much fun is she? All this loss ... pain ... "

" Leave her alone, " the Doctor demanded.

Cassandra sighed, " Fine then. You asked for it. "

Lily heaved a sigh of relief, and looked around the room, disorientated. She was confused for a moment, but came around quickly enough, in time to inspect the room.

" Where did she go? " Lily asked, looking at the Doctor.

" Oh my, " a rather camp voice said, "this is different. "

" Cassandra? " Rose asked incredulously, as she and Lily stared in horror.

" Goodness me, " Cassandra said, through the Doctor's lips, " I'm a man ... so many parts. Yum, and so hardly used. " She began to wiggle around, running her hands down the Doctor's chest, " ah ... ah! Oh baby, I'm beating out a samba! "

" Get out of him! " Lily snapped, " you leave him alone! "

" Ooh, he's slim," Cassandra laughed, looking down at the Doctor's body, " and a little bit foxy. " she looked at Rose with a grin, " you thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking ... and you like it. "

Rose blushed and lily glared but they didn't have time to do anything, as the zombies suddenly burst through the door and made them both jump.

"Oh my god! " Cassandra as the Doctor yelled, " What do we do? What the hell would he do? The Doctor - what would we do? "

Lily pointed at a ladder on one of the walls, " We've got to get up there. "

Rose was closest, but Cassandra shoved her out of the way roughly and started up the ladder. Rose was too suprised to do anything, but Lily followed. Rose shook herself and then followed Lily up the ladder.

" Lily! " Rose called frantically, " you must be able to do something! "

" I don't have any ideas! " Lily replied, " I don't have anything to do! I can't think! Just keep moving! "

They quickly got to the top of the ladder, and when they were there, they found that the doors to the lift were sealed. They were going to be stuck here.

" Now what? " Cassandra asked.

Lily tried to reached into her pockets to find the laser spanner, but she couldn't find it. She realised it was on her inside breast pocket - but she'd have to undo the coat first, and she couldn't do that without letting go of the ladder.

" His sonic screwdriver! " Lily shouted desperately.

Cassandra reached into one of the pockets near her and pulled out the screwdriver, " You mean this thing? But I don't know how to use it - he's locked it away in his thoughts. "

" Cassandra, " Lily said, " go into one of us again. We need _him. _I could probably use the screwdriver, but we're better off with him. Just use one of us for a few minutes. "

" Here goes, " Cassandra said, zooming back into Lily, " oh great - all depressed and grieving again. Doctor, open it! "

" Not unil you get out of her, " the Doctor shouted.

Cassandra heaved a sigh and nodded, " Fine then. "

Then she was in Rose again, " Well? C'mon! "

The Doctor shook his head, " I'm serious - you leave the pair of them alone! I order you to leave them alone! "

Cassandra leapt back into the Doctor, " Happy now? "

" Get out of him! " Rose shouted.

" I can't, " Cassandra pointed out, " he won't let me go into either of you. He's so rude! "

" I don't care! You have to leave, " Rose pointed out.

Cassandra - in the Doctor's body - frowned and then her face contorted in shock, " Fine. Oh, I am going to regret this ... this is going to be disgusting ... " Then she was suddenly in one of the zombie's, several rungs below, " Oh, this is awful. "

The Doctor quickly opened the lift and held out a hand to Lily, " Are you alright? " he asked, concern etched all over his face.

She nodded, " Fine .... just fine. "

The Doctor pulled her up to safety, and then turned to Rose with a wide smile, " Nice to have you back. "

" Oh no you don't! " Cassandra, as a zombie yelled, before pushing herself back into Rose's body.

The Doctor sighed, knowing there was no time for argument, and pulled Rose/Cassandra to her feet. As the first of the zombies reached them, the lift doors closed, and they were safely away from the infected zombies. Free to walk down ward 26.

As they walked down the ward, Frau Clovis was there, brandishing a chair at them.

The Doctor hastily held up his hands - which Lily and Cassandra as Rose mimicked - and told her, " We're clean! We're clean - clean! If we'd been touched, we'd be dead. "

Clovis seemed to accepted this, as she put the chair back down, and nodded at them.

" So, " the Doctor said, " what's the situation up here? "

" There's nothing but silence from the other words, " Frau Clovis said, " I think we're the only ones left. I've been trying to overload the quarantines. If I can trip a signal over to New York, they can send a private squad. "

" You can't do that, " the Doctor protested, " it would break the quarantine. "

" I am not dying in here, " Clovis replied angrily.

" We can't let this disease get out," Lily said quietly, "there are millions of people in the city - they'll all die. Turn it off. You can't let them all die. "

Clovis shrugged, " Not if it gets me out safely. "

The Doctor sighed and took over, " Alright. Fine. If I have to fight you as well, then fine. Everyone - gather solutions for every disease going! "

Evertone gathered up bottles and thrust them at the Doctor, who was, as usual, in his element, saving everyone once again. He tied a rope around his body tightly, and started attaching all the solutions to it.

" Will that do? " he asked.

" Do for what? " Cassandra as Rose asked.

The Doctor grinned and opened the doors to the lift with his sonic screwdriver. He peered down the shaft and smiled in a satisfied sort of way.

Lily raised her eyebrows, " You're not -? "

He just grinned at her, before stepping backwards a few times, and staring at the elevator shaft. He put his sonic screwdriver between his teeth and took a run at it.

" What are you doing?! " Cassandra yelled.

Lily watched carefully, hoping it would work. She could barely keep still long enough to watch. Her hands were almost covering her eyes as she watched him. He jumped right into the middle of the elevator shaft and clung onto the rope.

" I'm going down," he told Cassandra," now come on - jump on! "

Lily shook her head at him, " You can't hold the weight of both us of! That's ridiculous! "

The Doctor rolled his eyes, " I'll manage. You're both quite slim anyway - it won't be for long - I can manage. "

" But - " Lily started.

The Doctor pulled a face at her, " You don't get a choice. You are not staying here, so _get on. _And Cassandra - if you're so despserate to stay alive, then why not live a little? "

Lily sighed. He was completely mental.

Then she was running as fast as she could towards him. She took the jump without stopping to think about it. Sure it was a risk, but with Jack gone, who cared what risks she took. She didn't care so much any more.

She threw herself into the elevator shaft and threw her arms around her Dad. Her arms were around his neck and she clung to his front, her face over one of his shoulders.

" Good to see you, " the Doctor grinned.

Then before they knew what was happening, Cassandra had jumped on to his back. The Doctor groaned and shifted, before telling them to hold on tight - this would be quick, and they had to do it quick - the rope might not hold all three of them.

They whizzed down the elevator shaft, Cassandra screaming, while Lily and the Doctor laughed gleefully.

When they reached the bottom, they all got to their feet and straightened themselves out.

Lily realised that that might be the first time she'd laughed since ... since his death.

" Now, " the Doctor said, " listen. When I say so, get that lever. "

" There's still a quarantine, " Cassandra argued, " we can't go out there - they'll - "

" Hold that lever! " the Doctor shouted.

Lily watched him for a moment, and then a slow grin spread across her face. " Dad, you're a genius. "

" I know, " he nodded, ripping open one of the packets of medicine and pouring it into where the disinfectant for the lift should go. He kept on pouring all of the medicines into the container, until they were all in there.

When he was done, he opened the lift doors. The infected people started to walk towards them as soon as they noticed them.

" Come on! " the Doctor shouted, " I'm in here! "

" Don't tell them that! " Cassandra shouted, " close the doors. "

" Pull that lever! " came the reply from both the Doctor and Lily at the same time.

The infected people continued to stagger towards them, reaching out with one hand. The Doctor continued to call towards them, beckoning them to the lift, towards him. They continued to come, slowly but surely.

The solution started to leak from the lift, soaking the three of them, and the first few infected people who had come into the lift.

The Doctor laughed ethusiastically, " All they want to do it pass it on! Pass it on! "

" Pass what on? " Cassandra asked in confusion.

" Pass it on! " the Doctot shouted happily.

The ones who'd been hit by the solution started touching the others, and passing on their good health. Lily watched in amazement, as everyone passed on the solution.

Boils started to disappear, and they all started to look like normal people again.

" What did you pass on? " asked Cassandra in Rose's body, " have you killed them all? "

" Don't be stupid, " said Lily, " no-one dies. "

" I'm the Doctor, " the Doctor grinned, " and I cured them all. "

Lily watched him walk away and start to talk to everyone, inspecting them and laughing and rejoicing at them. She folded her arms and leant back against the wall, watching how happy everyone was. These people got to live ... they had something to live for, and the human race would go on.

Jack's death had forced her to look at things in a new way, and that way made everything miserable and gloomy. There was no way she could carry on. There was death everywhere and that was that. Now, however, she thought that maybe she _could _carry on. And she could do that by making sure other people didn't die.

The police arrived soon, and they started taking the cat nurses away.

As the police swarmed and the now-cured people were still adjusting to their new found life, the Doctor made his way over to Lily.

" Are you alright? " he asked her.

Lily smiled - a smile that she actually meant, " You know what? I'm never going to be alright about losing him - in fact, I want him back so much it hurts. But there's a tiny little glimmer of hope. Maybe not for tomorrow, but right now I feel a little bit hopeful. "

The Doctor reached out and wrapped her in his arms. He hugged her tightly, and rubbed her back in soothing circular motions, " That's great, " he said, " the most you can ask for is to live for today. If you feel good today, but bad tomorrow, then that's fine. You need time, and then you'll be alright. "

" I don't know, " Lily sighed.

The Doctor kissed the top of his daughter's head as he pulled away from her, " C'mon Lils. We've got to go see our old friend. "

They met Cassandra up on ward 26 and walked towards her, before walking to the Face of Boe.

Lily immediately felt some sort of warmth from the Face of Boe, though there wasno reason for it.

" You were supposed to be dying, " the Doctor said to the Face of Boe, who looked very much alive and well.

The Face of Boe simply replied, " There are better things to do today. Dying can wait. "

" Because this isn't morbid, " Cassandra muttered.

" Shush, you, " the Doctor hissed.

Boe continued, " I have grown tired with the universe Doctor. But you have taught me to look at it anew. You and your daughter are something special. "

The Doctor smiled and knelt before the Face of Boe, looking up at the big container. Lily followed his lead, getting down on her knees out of respect.

" There are legends about you, you know, " Lily said, " they say you're millions of years old. "

" Really? That would be impossible ... wouldn't it? " the Face of Boe asked.

" Wouldn't it just? " the Doctor grinned, before sobering up, " I got the impression you wanted to tell me something. "

" A great secret, " the Face of Boe nodded.

" So the legend says, " the Doctor agreed.

" It can wait, " the Face of Boe replied.

The Doctor sighed, put out, " Does it have to? "

The Face of Boe looked from the Doctor to Lily and back again, " I have a great secret for you both. And something else for the daughter of the Doctor, if it is not told before then. "

" Why not tell me now? " Lily asked.

The Face of Boe smild slightly, " We shall meet again, for the third time ... for the last time ... and the truth shall be told. Until that day ... "

And with that, he had teleported away.

Lily got to her feet with a frown, " I wonder what he had to say ... "

" All in good time, " the Doctor told her, " until then .... that's that, I suppose. Leave the enigmatic old face to it, I say. "

Lily nodded, " I'm going to go back downstairs for a bit. There must be some toilets around here somewhere. "

The Doctor smiled at her, " I'll meet you by the front doors of the hospital. "

When she met him there, Rose was arm in arm with the Doctor, grinning, and Cassandra's assistant Chip, was there, apparently having lived and not being touched by the infected people.

" Woah - how long was I in there? " she asked, " what happened? "

" I'm back! " Rose laughed, " oh - and Cassandra's in Chip now. "

Cassandra in Chip's body said, " Well, poor Chip's only half a human, I'm afraid. His heart can't take it. He's dying ... and ... and I'm alright with that. "

" But, " the Doctor said, " there's something I want to do first. Come on - let's get to the TARDIS. "

Lily was curious to see what he had in mind, and agreed. She was in silence with herco fusion and anticipation until the TARDIS landed. The Doctor pushed open the doors and hovered in the doorway with Lily and Rose, while Cassandra in Chip's body left the TARDIS.

They were at a party, and the past Cassandra was there. She was a proper human being here, and was swanning around at a party.

They watched as Cassandra in Chip's body approached the first Cassandra and told her how beautiful she looked. Cassandra looked touched and thanked Cassandra/Chip with a smile.

But then Chip collapsed, and Cassandra held him in her arms as he died.

Lily wiped away a stray tear at the scene, and the Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder gently.

She sniffed and shook her head, " I'm sorry. I didn't even like Cassandra. "

The Doctor squeezed her shoulder wordlessly and turned her around, as the three of them went back into the TARDIS. Lily ran a hand through her hair as she followed her Dad into their home, and she stopped and looked around with a sigh.

Now to go to sleep. Alone, and be left with her dreams.

The Doctor said goodnight to Rose, who went offf ot bed, before turning to Lily.

He laid his hands on her shoulders and looked her up and down, scrutinising her, before gathering her in hsis arms and hugging her to him.

" You get some sleep, " he told her, " I want you all fresh and ready for our next adventure. You're going to be fine without Jack. "

Lily wanted to tell him that he was very, very wrong, but didn't have it in her to argue for now. Instead she hugged her Dad and went off to bed.

The Doctor was left hoping his daughter would soon get over this.


	5. When the Captain Wakes Up

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: Just a quick chapter to show what happened to Jack straight after the Game Station. There might be more chapters with Jack in, if that's what everyone wants to see.**

**Also, in reply to MizMizMi: I'm definitley going to do School Reunion, Rise of the Cyberman & Age of Steel, Idiot's Lantern, and Army of Ghosts & Doomsday from series 2. I'll do the runaway bride.  
From series 3: Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Human Nature & Family of Blood, Utopia, Sound of the Drums and Last of the Time Lords.  
If anyone really wants any other episodes, I'll do them, but these are the ones I've already decided on.**

Chapter Five

_Game Station - The year 200,100_

The last thing Captain Jack Harkness could remember was the attack of the Daleks. He was backed down a corridor, with three of them in front of him, and then they'd killed him.

Now, his eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath.

He looked around in confusion, but all the Daleks had gone. There was nothing here, and he seemed to be alone. What's more .. he'd been shot by a Dalek ray and he hadn't died. That should have been fatal, but ... he was fine. He got to his feet and looked down at himself - yeah, he was fine. He wondered if Dalek rays weren't all fatal - maybe some just shocked you.

With the Daleks gone, he realised that the Doctor must have defeated them. The Doctor ... and Lily ... he had to get to them. Everything was going to be alright.

Extremely happy at the thought of living through this, and being with Lily again - he was certain that the Doctor would have made sure he and Lily survived - he took off down the corridor as fast as he could, a wide grin plastered across his face.

When he got to Floor 500 however, it was empty. No sign of the TARDIS, or the Doctor, or his beautiful girlfriend, Lily.

The grin slid from his face as he checked the entire floor, and still didn't find any sign of them.

After he'd checked he entire Game Station, he had to conclude that they weren't there.

And he didn't know what to do next. He had so much fun with them, and they were his best friends, but they'd left him here.

He contemplated this as he stood on his own back on Floor 500. He didn't understand why they would have just left him here. He and Lily were perfect together, she made him feel like he'd never felt beofre, and she was the only person he'd ever commited himself to. They had a chance of a future together. He knew Lily wouldn't have just left him like that.

He knew that Lily loved him, even if she'd never said it. There was no way she'd leave him here and drive off into space - Lily was outspoken and didn't take any rubbish from her Dad - if he wanted to leave, she'd have stopped him.

Then he couldn't understand why the Doctor would have wanted to leave him here - sure, he'd just found out about his and Lily's relationship, but even a protective Dad couldn't do that ... could he? There had to be something more to it.

Then a sudden thought struck him. He'd been shot by a Dalek's ray - that should have been fatal. What if ... what if they knew he'd been shot by the ray, and believed him to be dead?

The thought of his beloved Lily thinking he was dead, was too much.

He had to find her and be with her again. His jaw set in determination as he looked down at the vortex manipulator on his wrist - there was _no way _that he was going to let her go.

He had to find the Doctor and demand answers, and more importantly he had to find Lily, gather her up in his arms, kiss her and tell her he loved her. Once he found her, he was never going to let her out of his sight.

But where to find them? He was determined that he was going to find them as soon as possible, and he should be able to do that soon.

He looked down at the vortex manipulator and nodded in satisfaction. The best place to find them was where the rift was, since they'd have to refuel some time. He needed to get his timeline to cross theirs in the right place, so it would have to be after their last refuel.

21st Century Cardiff it was. He wouldn't have to wait long. They'd be together soon.

***

When the vortex manipulator had done, Jack looked around at his surroundings, and knew he'd got it wrong. The place looked too old fashioned and the people were dressed like no-one from the 21st Century. In fact, he barely recognised Cardiff - if it _was _Cardiff.

Looking down at the manipulator, he shook his head.

It was Cardiff, but not at the right time. According to his technology, it was 1869. He was confused at how wrong he'd gotten it - it was usually quite accurate.

What was special about 1869? Why had he gotten the tracer so wrong?

He thought about the way he'd hastily linked it up the to rift - he vaguely remembered something the Doctor had said. The rift originated in 1869.

Rolling his eyes at his own stupidity, he started to program his vortex manipulator again, aiming to get it right this time. He pressed the green button, but nothing happened. He pressed it again. And again. And again.

Still nothing happened, and Jack realised with dismay that his vortex manipulator had failed him. It was broken, and he couldn't repair it just like that. He thought that maybe if he had some time, he could look over it, tap into it, and fix it, ready to go and find his girl.

He found a grubby little bar where they were willing to give him a room for the night.

After an hour of sitting on the bed, inspecting the manipulator, he realised it was going to take some serious work to fix, if he could fix it at all.

He sighed, thinking of Lily. She meant more to him than anyone he'd ever met, and he couldn't imagine life without her. They'd spent months together and he didn't want to let go of her - she could be the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He found himself wondering how she was feeling without him, and instantly knew that she'd feel just as he did - if not worse, if she thought he was dead. He was the calm one, and she was the worrier in their relationship, but he wasn't there to calm her, soothe her, solve everything.

He thought of the last time he'd seen her.

They'd been saying their goddbyes on Floor 500. He'd told her it wasn't the end. She worried it would be. He took her in his arms and never wanted to let go. She held him tightly and said she was glad she'd met him. He was adamant that it wasn't the end, and was insistant that he'd see her again. He told her he was glad they'd met, and wished her good luck.

When he'd left Floor 500, tears welled up in his eyes, and he'd furiously blinked them away. He'd see her again - if he thought positive, then everything would be alright.

Then he thought of the last time he'd heard her voice.

It was over the comms - he'd shouted at the Doctor to get a move on with his Delta Wave. Lily called his name loudly, and that was the last word her heard from her. He'd replied, but she hadn't heard.

He'd finally told her " I love you", but the comms started breaking up, and she hadn't heard.

Now, alone in the 19th Century, tears welled up in his eyes again and he made no move to wipe them away.

***

After days of trying to fix his vortex manipulator, Jack knew it was hopeless.

He was completely stuck, and there was no way he'd make it to the 21st century. He'd die before then - he'd have to live almost 150 years to get to where he'd originally intended to.

But that didn't mean he'd stop looking for her.

He was going to find that woman, and tell her he loved her, and hear her say it back. He'd do it even if it took him 50 years, and even if it killed him.

Lily and the Doctor were time travellers - there was a chance that they'd travel to this time and he'd find them. They caused trouble everywhere they went - he could ask around - travel a bit. Someone, somewhere would have heard something.

He made a silent vow to himself right there, that he would find Lily. He'd tear the wolrd apart to find her. He'd go to the ends of the universe to find her if he had to.


	6. Memories & Realisations

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: Just a little chapter of Lily stuff, to follow the Jack stuff chapter.**

Chapter Six

Lily sat in her room one night.

They'd been to a handful of places since their trip to New Earth - Aboriginal Australia, the Planet of the Catratan, not to mention getting to mention their latests run in - Queen Victoria and a werewolf.

Lady Lily of the TARDIS was beginning to realise that she would never see her Jack again, and the thought of that killed her.

She had started to feel slightly better about losing him after Rose sugested that she do something to take her mind off it. Now, she was in the process of making a scrapbook in her free time, to commemorate all the good times she and Jack had shared.

It was night, but Lily didn't feel like she needed any sleep.

Instead, she pulled a thick, empty book that she'd found a few days ago, from under her bed. It had a purple cover, and she'd stuck a photograph of the pair of them on the front cover.

They were arm in arm in front of the Vatican, shortly before they'd saved the Pope John Paul II from killer giant grasshoppers. Jack looked as handsome as ever, with one arm casually thrown around Lily's shoulders, and a smirk across his face. Lily's arms were folded across her chest, and she wasn't looking at the camera, but at Jack, an amused smile on her face. The photo was taken before they started seeing each other, and was one of very few photos that Lily had of the pair of them. They were usually too busy running around to be tourists.

Lily hugged the book to her chest, grabbed a case with her favourite pens and pencils in and left her bedroom. She went down the corridor, round the corner, kept on going, knowing where she was going without even thinking about it.

She'd visited Jack's bedroom several times since his death, just sitting on his bed, which still smelled of him, and often falling asleep in his bed.

She'd open his wardrobe and look at all the clothes - each one of them reminded her of something they'd done, somewhere they'd been.

The books on his desk, and the scraps on paper covered in his small, neat handwriting. She'd looked through some of the sheets on his desk, but there was on that stood out. It was a blank piece of paper, except for one little word in the corner, with a badly drawn heart next to it. She always smiled when she saw the way he'd absent-midedly doodled her name.

She sat down on his bed, and grabbed one of the pillows, putting it across her knees.

She picked it up and hugged it to her - it still smelt like Jack. He might have been gone for days - maybe two weeks - but his 51st century pheremones were still all over the room.

She tossed the pillow aside and grabbed her scrapbook.

The scrapbook had made her feel better, because it gave her somewhere to vent her feelings, and put her time into something else. It meant that when she, her Dad and Rose went off on their adventures, she was able to have more fun, and tried to put Jack aside for a moment.

Then when she got to bed, she would let herself think about him. She would go into Jack's room and think about him behind closed doors.

Right now, she opened the scrap book and looked at the first page.

She'd scrawled across the top _London 1941 _and underneath, had drawn a sketch of a barrage balloon with a rope hanging down. Then a picture of the inside of a ship. And she'd sketched the outside of a ship tied up to Big Ben. She'd drawn champagne glasses. She'd written all about their first meeting, and hummed their song to herself as she looked over the page: Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade. It had been playing when they'd slowdanced on a space ship tethered to Big Ben, in he middle of the Blitz.

The next page was full of drawings of the gas mask children, and her scrawlings about what happened with them. The page ended with a sketch of the TARDIS, the door open.

There were pages and pages ready to be filled with records of their time together.

She picked up her favourite purple pen and tried to think about what had happened next.

She smiled slightly: the first time he'd called her beautiful.

They'd been at a shopping centre, and the pair of them had gone for a drink, while the Doctor and Rose went for a bite to eat. This, again, was before they started their relationship, although there was lots of flirting going on.

She wrote about the cocktail he'd bough ther "My Fair Lady" because he'd said that's what she was. She made a passing comment about him being rather handsome, and he told her that she was beautiful. She laughed it off and told him he didn't think that, but he told her she was very beautiful and she should never forget that.

She smiled as she thought of the way he'd always made her feel - happy. No - estatic. And he always made her feel safe. His arms were strong and safe and he was always warm and always there for her. And he made her feel special. He made her feel that when they were together, they were invincible.

She knew she'd never find someone else who made her feel the same.

***

When Lily woke up the next morning, she was in Jack's bed. She hadn't even realised she was tired, let alone remembered sleeping.

She got up the went in search of Rose and her Dad.

When she found them, they were in the control room, with Mickey.

Lily looked at them in suprise, " We're back on Earth? I didn't even feel us moving - why did you let me sleep? You should have woken me up. "

The Doctor shrugged, " I thought you could use some sleep. You've been better these last few days - less upset, and I thought if you carried on getting your sleep, then you'd carry on being alright. "

" What are we doing here, anyway? "

Rose gestured towards Mickey, " Mickey says there's rumours that something's going on at the high school across town. Reckons there's dodgy stuff going on. "

" So we're going to get ourselves in there and have a look at it, " the Doctor added.

Lily looked at Mickey, " Great. We're going to hang around some high school? "

" Not just that, " the Doctor said, " we're going to have to get in here. We're going to have to get jobs there, blend in, and then do some snopping around. "

Lily raised her eyebrows, " Jobs? We're going to work at some high school? "

" It'll be fun, " the Doctor grinned, " I'm going to poke around in the school's records and see what jobs we can get. We're going to do this, and we're going to do it without bringing attention to ourselves. "

Lily sighed, " Fine then. At least I'm not going to have to be a school student. "

The Doctor grinned, " No - you look too old. You're going to have to be a teacher or something. "

" Here's hoping I get a decent subject, " Lily said, " because I'd hate to be stuck teaching something I hate to high school kids. "

" That's the spirit, " the Doctor said, " I'll start looking for these jobs right away. "

***

_Cardiff, 1879_

It had been ten years since Captain Jack Harkness had gotten stuck in the 19th century, and he'd not managed ot fix his vortex manipulator - he knew now that he would never be able to fix it.

He'd kept on searching for Lily and the Doctor, though. He asked around everywhere he went, but no-one had ever seen them or heard of them. He'd spent ten years travelling Wales without any luck.

Jack was determined not to give up though.

***

_Cardiff, 1889_

20 years had passed, and Jack couldn't work out what was going on.

He still looked exactly the same as he had 20 years ago, even though he should be in his fifties by now. There was still no sigh of Lily, and he hadn't heard about she or her Dad from anyone. He was still determined that he woud find his girl one day. Life wasn't complete without her.

***

_Ellis Island 1892_

Circumstances had led to Jack travelling to New York.

There was still no sign of the love of his life, and Jack still refused to give up hope - anyone else might have given up, but Jack's sheer determination was one of his biggest traits. He never forgot the way he'd felt when he was with her, and everything she meant to him.

He'd been stuck on Earth for 23 years now. Added to the age he was when he got here - 38 - he was now 61. It seemed like a joke, that he was now that old, because he hadn't aged a day since arriving on Earth. This was something he was going to have to quiz the Doctor on if - _when - _he found the TARDIS again.

He was in a bar one night, when he got inot a fight.

This night was the night that Jack was shot straight through the heart. As he realised he was going to die, Jack thought of Lily and wished so hard that he'd found her.

The next thing he knew, his eyes shot open and he was gasping for breath. He was in an alley behind the bar where he'd gotten into the looked down at his chest and saw that there was a bullet hole right over his heart, that was slowly closing.

He was completely shocked, and also a little impressed by what his own body could achieve.

He stopped and thought about it. That should have been fatal.

No, that _was _fatal, he realised. He thought about it - shot by a deadly Dalek ray, never ageing, shot through the heart.

What if ...? But that was ridiculous.

He allowed himself to consider it - he couldn't die. That would be unbelieveable. Imagine what he could do, if he couldn't die. He'd be able to live long enough to find his gorgeous Lily. Then once he found her, all those worries he knew she had about her long life, and his human life, wouldn't be there anymore. They'd be on a level footing ... if he couldn't die, he'd be certain to find her sometime.

But there was no way that was possible.

In the next few years, Jack died another twice. This confirmed his suspicions, and he was now sure that he couldn't die.

He was going to find Lily.

But now he was also determined to find the Doctor, because he needed answers.

***

**Author's Note: Any suggestions as to what Lily could teach?**


	7. School Reunion

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: our chapters in one day - there is officially something wrong with me.**

Chapter Seven

Five days later, Lily entered the control room at 8:30 in the morning.

She was wearing a black pencil skirt, a pale blue shirt, and a black blazer, with smart black heels. Over one shoulder was a large black bag, which had various bits of paper in, as well as a few of her favourite poetry books, and some notes she'd made on them.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, " What's in the bag, Miss? "

Lily grinned. She and the Doctor had met seperately with the headmaster of the school yesterday to secure their jobs, and they'd both had to research what they'd need to teach.

When Lily found out what her new job was going to be, she was actually quite pleased. She hadn't been looking forward to the teaching thing, but when she realised that her year 11 class were studying Shakespeare's works, she was quite pleased. And teaching the rest of the kids how to write essays and analyse newspaper articles was going to be easy enough.

She'd always liked reading, and poetry was great.

" Just a few notes I made on some of the poems, and some plans for the lessons, " she replied.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, " You're getting quite into this, are you? "

Lily nodded, " Yeah! I'd have quite liked to have taught maths or chemistry if it was available, but English is just as good. Some of the younger classes might be boring, but poetry - I can do that. "

The Doctor was going to be teaching Physics, and was looking forward to it. Rose however, wasn't looking forward to her new job, as a dinner lady. The Doctor had told Rose it was the only way he could get her into the school - she couldn't teach, and there were only two teaching jobs going. It was dinner lady or year 11 student, and she wouldn't pass for a 15/16 year old.

" Come on then, Mr Smith, " Lily said, " we'd better get to work. "

" Right you are Miss - "

The Doctor broke off and looked at his daughter. They'd agreed it could be easier to pretend they weren't related - it could complicate things. He didn't look old enough to be her Dad, and they'd have to pretend to be related in some other way. That was alright when they were going somewhere for the day, but they could be here for a few weeks, and they couldn't risk Lily slipping up and calling him Dad, or something, or calling him Uncle when she was pretending to be his sister.

Instead, they would pretend that they knew each other, but just from working at another school together.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Lily, " What did you tell the school you were called? "

Lily swallowed, before saying, " Harkness. Lily Harkness. "

" Mrs? " the Doctor asked, eyebrows raising higher.

She shook her head, " That would have been taking it too far. I just needed a surname, since you're using Smith, and it was the first name I thought of. " She didn't add that she'd fantasized, since getting together with Jack, about marrying the man. Although she knew he wasn't the marrying kind.

The Doctor just nodded, " Fine then, " he said, though he knew how much it meant to Lily to use Jack's surname. He'd watched her grieve and had realised that maybe she _did _love Jack for real. He accepted that he'd made an error in leaving Jack there, since it hurt Lily so much, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

The pair of them left the TARDIS, after the Doctor gave Rose her instructions - as a dinner lady, she didn't have to start until 10 o clock.

The Doctor and Lily walked towards the school, and entered the school together.

Lily noticed the headmaster waiting for them.

Mr Finch, a grey haired man with dark eyes and a steely look in them, nodded when he saw them, " Ah, Mr Smith. Miss Harkness. You know each other? "

The Doctor nodded with a smile, " We worked together as St. Barts last year. "

Mr Finch nodded again, and looked between the two new teachers, " Right," he said," It's good to see you both. Staff briefing takes place on Tuesdays mornings, so you've this morning free. I can show you both to the staffroom, or your classrooms, if you'd like. "

" I'll go straight to my classroom, if you don't mind, " Lily told her new boss.

" And me," the Doctor agreed, " see what I'm working with , get the lessons planned and all that. "

Mr Finch asked them both questions about working at other schools, as they walked thorugh the corridors, while pointing out which classrooms were where and where everything else was, as well as pointing out students they should watch out for.

When Lily was at her classroom, she bade the two men goodbye and went to sit behind her desk.

She looked down a schedule of which classes she had for the day. She had a year seven class first - they should be easy enough, she felt certain.

When the bell rang at nine o clock, she heard the students outside rushing around to get to their form rooms. Ten minutes later, another bell rang and Lily was ready for her first class.

They all came in in groups of twos or threes and sat down at their desks. Lily watched them and when all of the desks were filled, she closed the classroom door and smiled at them all.

" Right, " she said, hands on her hips as she crossed the room, " as you can see, I'm your new English teacher. My name's Miss Harkness. "

She grabbed a whiteboard pen and turned away, writing "Miss Harkness" on the whiteboard, swallowing hard as she thought about it, and telling herself to remain calm.

She turned back to them, a smile plastered across her face, " So, I've looked through what you've done already, and you've just been doing comprehension? Reading the text and answering questions in your books? "

They nodded.

" Well, isn't that boring? " Lily asked, shaking her head, " we can't have that. "

One of the girls, a know-it-all looking kid, said, " But, Miss, Mr Finch says that - "

" Yeah, well, " Lily shrugged, sitting on the edge of her desk, " comprehension is boring, and you're not going to learn much by it. But you're supposed to know how to read things and answer questions on it, so we're going to make it different. "

" Can we play a game? " a boy at the back of the room asked.

Lily pointed a finger at him, " You - what's your name? "

" Joe, " he told her.

She nodded, "Right then Joe. We _are _going to turn it into a game. I'm going to hand you all a copy of the newpaper article. I'm going to give you three minutes to read it, then I'm going to take them all away. Then, I'll get you all up here, ask you some questions, and we'll see who can remember the most. Winner gets ... Oooh, how does a bar of chocolate sound? "

The students all looked at each other as if this new woman was mad - she'd been here two minutes.

Lily swung herself off her desk and clapped her hands together, " Come on then. Put your thinking caps on .... Oooh. Did I seriously just use the phrase "thinking caps on"? Not good. Anyway ... three minutes start when the last person gets their copy. "

The class seemed to enjoy the activity, with Lily asking them questions about the newspaper article until they got one wrong. They were amazed at the amount of questions she had off the top of her head, and laughed at the difficulty of some of them ("what was the fifth letter of the fourth word in the third paragraph?")

When the lesson was over, Lily awarded a bar of Dairy Milk to Emily Cross, a girl who seemed to know the answer to all questions asked.

The students all left happy, and Lily decided that she could get used to this teaching thing.

At breaktime, she was making herself a drink in the staffroom, where she befriended Mrs Parsans, a 40 year old food technology teacher. Mrs Parsans told her that since the arrival of the new headmaster, three months ago, the students seemed to be smarter. There was certain students that could tell you the answers to almost anything.

Lily made of mental note to keep an eye on the kids, and to mention this to a certain new Physics the next time she saw him.

***

After school was finished that day, Lily left alone, and walked back to the TARDIS. She made sure no-one was watching, before entering the blue box, and closing the door behind her.

" I'm home! " she shouted, dropping her bag on the grilling.

Rose and the Doctor was standing by the console, Rose looking anooyed, while the Doctor grinned at her.

" Woah, " Lily said, shaking her head, " what have I walked in to? "

Rose folded her arms and shot the Doctor a cold glare before turning to Lily," It;s about the fact that I'm working in a greasy school kitchen, and it's horrible. "

" It won't be for long, " the Doctor told her, " how about you, Lils? How are you finding it? "

Lily smiled and gave him what she realised was the honest answer, " I liked it. I actually had fun. "

***

Another school day passed, Lily relishing in teaching the students, while trying to make the lessons more interesting than other teachers would. She found that she had a passion for teaching the kids, and she got on well with most of them.

On the third day at the school, Lily was looking over her lesson plan for the lesson before lunch - her first meeting with her year eleven class. They were due to come in any minute now, and she was going to give them a lesson on one of Shakespeare's greatest plays

It felt odd to be teaching about Shakespeare - hell, she'd been married to Shakespeare. It had been before he was famous - in fact, he was only 18 when Lily met him. Lily had been 150 and was going through a rebellious phase. Lily and the Doctor had only been in town three days, and Lily had gone and married him. He was a good man, and they had fun. it was one of the few times that Lily and the Doctor settled in one place. They stayed for 6 months, but then it all went wrong - Will had gotten Anne Hathaway pregnant - he and Anne would have to marry. Lily had known she couldn't stay with Will forever, and in the end, that was that.

When the class came in and sat down, they all looked at her expectantly.

" Ok, " she said, when eveyrone was looking at her, " I'm Miss Harkness, and I'll be teaching you for a bit. I understand you've been studying Romeo and Juliet, and you should have your own copies of the play, so if you'll take those out, and turn to Act 2, Scene 2. "

She looked around at them all as they flipped the pages in their books

" You'll all be familiar with the play for far, then? " she asked, " and you'll have background knowledge of Shakespeare himself? "

There was a general nod from them, but one hand went up.

Lily nodded at the body, who said, " Miss, there's something I don't get about Shakespeare. He was married right? But then why did he write all those sonnets for other people? The Dark lady? The young man? There even nine about a mysterious traveller. "

Lily smiled, " What you've got to understand about Will ... iam Shakespeare, " she added hastily, " is that he might not have been the most monogomaous man about. "

" Shakespeare was a pimp? " one girl asked.

" Shall we get back to the play? " Lily said, picking up her book, " how about we start with Romeo's monologue. Um ..... you there, will you read it? "

_" But Soft, what light through yonder window breaks  
It is the East and Juliet is the sun,  
arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon,  
who is already sick and pale with grief - "_

" Good, stop there, " Lily said, " so here, Romeo is talking to the audience, or to himself, about his feelings for Juliet, as he watches her on her balcony. He compares her to the sun, and he's saying she's beautiful, because he's comparing her to something beautiful. Carry on? No, go from line 10 please? "

_" It is my lady, O, it is my love!  
O, that she knew she were. "_

" Good, " Lily nodded, " and what does anyone think of these lines? Yeah - you at the back? "

The boy replied, " The soft "O", is like a sigh, while he thinks about his love for Juliet, and there's an exclaimation mark, like it's showing how strongly he feels, and how much he loves her. Then on line 17 and line 19, he continues to compare her to beeutiful thing, like stars and heavens. Also, lines 24 an 25, he says he would love to be her glove so he could touch her cheek. This shows how much he loves her, because he's willing to be an inanimate object to be close to her, becuase of his love for her. "

When he was done, Lily raised her eyebrows, and a smile crossed face, " Wow. That's a lot for you to know, without having studied this before. You're good at this. "

The lesson continued, and they started talking about the depths of Romeo and Juliet's love.

Lily was waving her arms around animatedly as she spoke, " So Juliet is just a girl who loves this boys she's met, and wants to be with him, no matter what her family, or what anyone else thinks. It doesn't matter how different they are, or how many problems they have to face, she's going to be with this man. "

She paused, feeling tears fill her eyes, and she turned away to the whiteboard as she furiously blinked them away.

***

As the class filed out, Lily smiled at them warmly, but the smile dropped when they'd gone. She'd never related so much to Juliet Capulet as she did right now - it was quite ironic that her ex-husband had written a character who she sympathized with because of her love for another man.

She gave herself a minute to get compoed, before going to the canteen.

She spotted her Dad sat alone on a table in the middle of the room. She got in the dinner queue, planning on joining him.

She grinned as she put her tray in front of Rose, and Rose dropped a spoon full of mashed potatos onto the plate as well as a spoon of chips. Lily grinned at her friend, but Rose just glared.

Lily continued to grin, and turned away, taking her tray and putting it down in front of her Dad's.

" Mr Smith, " she said, sitting down.

" Lily, " the Doctor said, looking up with a smile, " how's it going? "

Lily shrugged, " Not bad. You know, " she lowered her voice, " I'm just hoping we get this sorted soon - some of the kids here know way more than they should do. It's not good for them. There's something not right here. "

Rose came over to talk to them, under the pretence of wiping the table, but another dinner lady came along and told her to go back to her work.

" I was only talking to these teachers, " Rose said, " they don't like the chips. "

The dinner lady frowned, " The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to imporve concentration and performance. Now get back to work. "

Rose left reluctantly, and Lily looked at her Dad, who was too busy watching someone else.

She watched too.

Mr Wagner approached a table of children, " Melissa, you'll be joining my class, next period. You need to be moved up to the top class. Kenny? Not eating the chips? "

" I'm not allowed, " the boy called Kenny replied.

Wagner didn't look happy, " Luke - with me, now. "

Wagner left the canteen, several children following him. Lily's eyes wandered upwards, to where Mr Finch stood on the balcony, watching them.

" Something's definitley going on, " the Doctor said quietly, as he turned back to Lily.

After eating her lunch, Lily went to the toilet while the Doctor went to the staffroom. Lily joined him in the staffroom ten minutes later, and as she came to stand next to him, she asked, " Have I missed much? "

She noticed his wide grin and shook her head, " What? What is it? "

He laughed, and luckily, they were in the corner, and the other teachers weren't close enough to hear their conversation, " You won't believe who was in here just now. You've just missed her. Oh, this is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Good for her. "

" What? Who? "

" Sarah Jane Smith, " the Doctor replied with a proud grin.

Lily laughed, trying to keep her voice down, " You're serious? Sarah Jane was here? Why? Did you talk to her? "

The Doctnor nodded, " Apparently she's an investigative journalist. I think she's here doing some poking around. I spoke to her, and she said she'd had a friend who went by John Smith too. Not that she'd recognise me, of course. But she's still poking around weird looking things - isn't that great. Good old Sarah Jane. "

Lily smiled, " Yeah. " A pause. " John? "

The Doctor looked at her - she was having to call him John incase anyone else heard.

Lily added, " I look the same. She'll recognise me. "

The Doctor nodded, " Ah. She will. " He stopped and laughed, " Sarah Jane Smith. Isn't this great? To catch up like this? Who cares if she _does _see us? "

Lily was going to mention that fact that Sarah Jane might not be happy, but decided not to. Instead, she listened as the Doctor went on to tell her that since Finch was made headmaster, other teachers had noticed an improvement in the children's intellect. And Finch had replaced half of the staff with his own staff.

Later on, things got stranger, when Rose told them about a dinner lady who had spilt a vat of oil and started smoking, and bursting into flames.

***

After school, the Doctor decided it was time to do some investigating. They'd moved the TARDIS into an unused maintainance closet in the school.

Lily, Rose, the Doctor and Mickey had snuck out, and were in one of the darkened corridors of the school.

" Feels wrong seeing school at night, " said Rose, " it feels weird. When I was a kid, I used to think that all of the teachers slept in school. "

The Doctor clapped his hands together, " Right team. Oh, I hate people who say 'team.' Gang ... comrades ... anyway, Rise, go get a sample of that oil. Mickey, all of the new staff are Maths teachers, so go and check out the Maths department. I'm gonna look in Finch's office. Back here in 10 minutes. "

" What about me? " Lily asked.

The Doctor smirked, " Do you really need to ask? I don't want you wandering around. You're sticking with me. "

" Dad, " she hissed, " I'm not a kid. This is stupid. I'd be a much better asset if you gave me another job to do. "

" I need you with me, " the Doctor told her, " it'll take me too long to search an entire office on my own. Happy now? "

" Perfectly, " she replied.

They all headed off. As Lily and the Doctor walked down the corridor, they heard a screech and some flapping in the distance. As one, they frowned and their heads snapped in that direction. They looked at each other, before moving in the direction of the noise.

As they strode down the corridor, Lily heard a door slam - when she looked one way, it the the door to the cupboard that they had put the TARDIS in.

She nudged her Dad and pointed towards the door, before taking a step forwards.

The Doctor tried ot grab her arm to stop her, but was resigned to watch as she laid a hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open slowly. She peered around the edge of the door, and a woman spun around to face her.

" Oh my God, " the woman whispered, " it's ... Lily! "

Lily smiled and pushed the door open fully, " Hi. "

Sarah Jane moved forwards, staring at Lily as if she weren't really there.

" Lily ... you look ... exactly the same. "

Lily was about to reply but heard footsteps behind her, and as Sarah Jane's eyes shifted and widened, she knew her Dad had entered the closet.

" Hello Sarah Jane, " he said quietly.

" It's you ... and ... you - you've regenerated, " Sarah Jane stammered, as Lily stepped aside, and Sarah Jane stood in front of both of them now, though she was focused on the Doctor - Lily knew how Sarah Jane had loved the Doctor.

" Half a dozen times since we last met, " the Doctor replied.

" You look ... incredible," the old companion told her Doctor.

" So do you, " came the reply.

" I got old, " Sarah Jane said, shaking her head, "what're you doing here, anyway? "

" Well ... " the Doctor said, a grin appearing, "UFO sightings - school gets record results. Couldn't resist really. And you? "

" Same, " she said.

All three laughed, but Sarah Jane faltered and was close to tears as she told them, " I thought you'd both died. I waited for you, but you never came back. I waited and waited. "

" We lived, " Lily said, " Just us. "

" What do you mean? " Sarah Jane whispered.

" Everyone else died, " the Doctor said quietly, pained.

Sarah Jane simply shook her head, "I still can't believe you two are here ... I never thought I'd see you again. I don't believe it. "

Their moment was broken by Mickey wailing

Sarah Jane laughed, " This makes it more believeable, " she said, as they ran off at full speed, almost skidding into Rose at the end of a converging corridor.

" Did you hear that? " Rose asked, " and who's _she? "_

" Rose, Sarah Jane! " the Doctor said brightly, " Sarah Jane, Rose! "

Rose glared at Sarah Jane, and Sarah Jane plastered a very fake smile on as she shook Rose's hand. " Nice to meet you. Your assistants are getting younger, Doctor. You really should keep him in check, Lily. "

" I'm not an assistant! " Rose snapped, outraged.

" No? " Sarah Jane asked with a sickly sort of smile.

The Doctor looked very uncomfortable, and Lily rolled her eyes at him - the ex-assistant meets the current assistant. It wasn't going to be good. She'd like to see him talk himself out of this one.

Instead, the Doctor took off down the corridor, in search of Mickey and his scream. The three women followed and they found Mickey in one of the classrooms, surrounded by lots of vacuum packed rats.

" Sorry! " Mickey said, " it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I - I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell out of them. "

The Doctor bent down to pick one of them up

.

" Oh, my God," Rose gasped, " they're vacuum packed rats! Rats! "

" And you decided to scream? " the Doctor said, shaking his head at Mickey, while Lily laughed.

" It took me by suprise! " Mickey protested.

" Like a little girl? " the Doctor pressed.

" It was dark! I was covered in rats! "

" I'm seeing a little girl. Nine, maybe ten years old. Pigtails, frilly skirt, " the Doctor continued, giving him a scornful look.

" Hello, can we focus? " Rose interrupted, " Rats in a school? "

Sarah Jane scoffed, " Well, obviously they use them to dissect in Biology classes. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you? "

Rose glared, " No one dissects rats anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages? "

" Moving on, " Lily said, cutting through the tension between the two humans. Rose and Sarah Jane exchanged dirty looks, and Lily added, " all this started when Finch arrived, we should go to his office. "

The Doctor gave his daughter a quick grin, " Good girl, " he said, offering out his arm to her. Lily smiled and slid her arm through his as they went back into the corridor.

" Look, " Rose said, " who exactly are you? "

Sarah Jane smiled proudly, " I used to travel with these two. "

Rose laughed not kindly, " Well he's never mentioned you. "

" I mention her all the time! " the Doctor said, trying to lie his way out of it.

" Oh really? " Rose said, shaking her head, " Hold on ... sorry ... never. "

Lily looked at her Dad and gave him a quick uncomfortable look, as Sarah Jane huffed in annoyance, " Never? He hasn't even mentioned me once? "

Rose walked off, followed quickly by Sarah Jane. Mickey smirked at the Doctor, clapping him on his back, " Oh, mate! The missus and the ex - welcome to every man's worst nightmare! "

Once they were at Finch's office, the Doctor worked on the lock with his screwdriver.

" What if those rats were food? " the Doctor asked with a frown.

" For what? " Rose asked.

The Doctor opened the door quietly, and peered inside. There were strange noises coming from inside, and the Doctor's eyes were drawn to the ceiling. Lily stood behind him on her toes, looking over his shoulder. When she saw what he saw, she stared.

Hanging from the ceiling were bat like creatures, sleeping.

" Rose? " the Doctor asked quietly, " you know how you used to think that teachers slept in the school? Well ... they do. "

" No way, " Mickey said, turning away, followed by Rose and then Sarah Jane. The Doctor nudged Lily with one hand and pushed her out of the doorway, following her and shutting the door behind them.

They hurried out of the front doors of the school in silence, going as fast as they could.

" I am not going back in there! " Mickey said, out of breath.

" Those were teachers! " Rose exclaimed, shocked.

" When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on, " the Doctor said, turning back to the school.

" You've gotta be kidding! " Mickey protested.

" I need the TARDIS, " the Doctor said, "to analyaze that oil from the kitchen. "

" Oh, I've got something that might help you, " said Sarah Jane, " you've got to see this. "

Sarah Jane grabbed the Doctor's arm and excitedly pulled him towards her car, while Rose looked on jealously.

" Don't be like that, " Lily said, as Mickey followed the Doctor and Sarah Jane, and Lily and Rose trailed behind, " Sarah Jane was a great friend, but he never felt about her the way he feels about you. "

Rose shook her head, " I'm not being like anything. "

Lily shook her head, " Yeah, right. But you should know that Sarah's in the past, and Dad - he loves you, yeah? Not her. "

" He doesn't love me, " Rose said.

Lily didn't reply because they were at Sarah Jane's car, and they could see what Sarah Jane and the Doctor were cooing over.

" K9! " Lily cried, reaching out with one arm to pet the tin dog, " oh - he's not broken? "

" I might be able to fix him," the Doctor said, " what do you say to going for some chips, everyone? Some chips while we sort out this poor tin dog and decide what to do next. "

Everyone was in agreement, and soon they were sat in a greasy little cafe. Sarah Jane and her two old friends were sitting at a table by the window, catching up while the Doctor tried to fix K9, while Mickey and Rose sat at a table at the the other end of the room.

" Didn't you ever meet anyone? " Sarah Jane asked Lily, " you're such a pretty girl. He has all these assistant - don't you ever get anyone? "

Lily sighed, looking down at the table, and looking back up again, while the Doctor gave her a quick concerned look. She bit her lip before replying, "There was a man. He was ... he was perfect for me. Then the Daleks came along, killed him. "

" I'm - "

" Don't say it, " Lily said, holding her hand up with a slight smile, " I know you mean well but ... it's hard. "

Sarah Jane nodded and said nothing. There was a pause, before Sarah Jane smiled at the pair of them, " I never forgot you two, you know. How could I? I thought of you this Christmas just gone - great big spaceshpi overhead, and I thought 'Oh yeah, they're up there.' "

" Right on top of it, " the Doctor agreed.

" And Rose? " Sarah Jane asked cautiously.

" She was there too, " the Doctor said carefully.

There was another pause, before Sarah Jane sighed sadly and asked, " Did I do something wrong? Because you never came back for me. You just .... dumped me. "

Lily stood up, " I'm going to go get a drink. "

She left them to it - she couldn't be bothered with the whole thing between the pair of them. She was standing at the counter sipping a can of coke when she heard K9's tones from across the room.

She turned around in time to see Mickey sitting down opposite the Doctor, and Rose handing him the oil sample.

Lily crossed the room again and leant over the table.

" Hello boy, " she said, "it's been a while. "

" Miss Lily! " K9 said cheerfully.

Lily laughed and watched as the Doctor dipped his finger in the oil sample and put it smeared it onto the tin dog's sensor. K9 processed it, and the clever dog had a response right away.

" Confirmation of analysis- substance is Krillitane oil. "

Lily's mouth dropped slightly and she exchanged the same horrified look with her Dad, " Krilliantanes, " they said in unison.

" That's bad? " Rose asked.

" Very, " the Doctor confirmed, " Think of how bad things could be, and add another suitcase full of bad. "

" And another three cases on top of that, " Lily added.

" What are ... Krillitanes? " asked Sarah Jane, leaning forward curiously.

The Doctor told them, " They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries - people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've gots bits of Viking, bits of French, bit of whatever - the krillitanes are the same. And amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take the physical aspects as well. They cherry-pick the best bits from the people they destroy. The last time I saw the Krillitanes, they looked just like us, except that they had really long necks. "

" So what're they doing here? " asked Rose.

Lily's expression was grave, " It's the children. They're doing something with the children. "

The Doctor stodd up, " We need to get back to the school. "

Sarah Jane and Mickey went on ahead, while Rose and the Doctor walked together, and Lily walked behind them.

Lily felt like the was intruding on the conversation she could hear between Rose and the Doctor. She heard Rose demand to know how many people had travelled with them. She heard Rose tell the Doctor that she thought they had a future together and she didn't want to be left behind.

She heard the Doctor reply that he'd never leave her. Not her.

She almost thought he was going to tell Rose how he felt. " Humans decay, Rose. Imagine seeing that happen to someone who you - '" he stopped, realising what he was about to say. Rose asked him to go on, but he just shook his head.

" You can spend the rest of your life with me, " the Doctor told her, sadly, " but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. That's the curse of the Time Lords. "

Lily knew exactly how he felt, but she was distracted by a voice calling, " Time Lord! "

They looked up to see Finch and another Krillitane on the roof of the school. The other Krilliatane screeches and swooped down from the roof towards them. They all ducked and it flew away.

" Was that one of them? " Sarah Jane asked.

" But it just flew away! " Rose said, " why would it do that? "

The Doctor sighed, " We should call it a night. We meet back here in the morning. "

***

The next morning, Mickey, Lily, Rose, Sarah Jane and the Doctor stood outside the school.

" Right, " the Doctor said, looking at them all, as the school bell rang, " Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Take the screwdriver. Mickey - survelliance. I want you outside. "

" Just stand outside? " Mickey asked shaking his head.

Sarah Jane handed him her car keys, " Here - keep K9 company. "

" Don't forget to leave the window open a crack, " the Doctor warned.

" But he's metal, " said Mickey with confusion.

" I didn't mean for him, " shrugged the Doctor, " and I think it's time that _I _hard a word with Finch. "

" I'm coming with you then? " Lily asked, looking up at her Dad.

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, but stopped and frowned suddenly. " No, " he said, " I don't want you to be there. The Krillitane are dangerous and I'd much rather you stay away from them. They're more bad news than almost everything we've come across, and I want to know that you're safe. You'd be safer out here, on survelliance. "

" But - "

The Doctor interrupted, " Please, Lily, " he said simply.

Lily nodded, " Fine then. I'll stand outside and do nothing. I can't believe you're making me stand outside here with Mickey and K9. That's just great. "

" Yeah, " muttered Mickey.

As the pair of them were left alone outside, they looked at each other.

" This is going to be fun, " Lily said, " sitting around like a pair of school kids because they don't want us to get in the way. "

" Welcome to my world, babe, " Mickey said with a sympathetic smile.

Lily sighed and looked at him sideways, "C'mon then. We might as well make use of the car. It's going to look odd if we're standing around the car park for hours. "

Half an hour later, they were sat in the car, K9 on the back seats, Mickey behind the wheel and Lily in the passengers seat. They were bored and there was only so much eye-spy that they could play.

Lily looked around bored and something caught her eye. She slapped Mickey's shoulder and pointed towards the front doors of the school.

One of the kids - Kenny, she thought his name was, she recognised him from her year ten class - was rattling the front doors of the school, but they were locked.

Lily threw open the car door and got out. She and Mickey jogged across the yard and stopped in front of the doors.

" What's going on? " Lily demanded, shouting at him through the door.

" Miss Harkness? " Kenny shouted, " what are you doing? "

" Never mind me, " Lily shouted, " what's going on in the school? "

" They've taken the children! " replied Kenny, rattling the doors again.

Lily pulled out her laser spanner and held it to the doors. She pressed the button on the side, and pointed it at the doors, but it wasn't working. She tried again and again, and cursed when it failed for the third time.

Lily sighed and looked at Mickey. They nodded at each other and ran back to the car, to K9.

" Do you have a lock picking device? " Mickey demanded of the tin dog as he and Lily got into the car.

" We are in a car! " K9 said.

" A drill attachment? " Mickey tried.

" We are in a car " came the reply.

" Fat lot of good you are, " scoffed Mickey in great annoyance.

" Um ... Mickey? " Lily said, looking at him carefully.

Mickey looked back at her and then at K9, " Wait a minute ... we're in a car! " Looking back at Kenny, he shouted, " Get back! "

Mickey started the car and looked at Lily, " Get strapped in, " he said, " this is going to be a wild drive. "

Lily did as she was told - for once - and was nervous as Mickey drove towards the school as fast as he could, right through the front doors and smashing the windows.

Lily opened her eyes, after having closed them tightly during the run up to the school. She was amazed to find that they were both unharmed.

" You've just gained some serious points in my eyes, " Lily told Mickey as they threw open the cars doors and looked around.

Mickey looked at Kenny, "Come on! " he said.

The two adults, and Kenny ran through the school until they came across the Doctor, Rose and Sarah Jane at the bottom of the stairs.

" What's going on? " asked Mickey.

" Lily! " the Doctor cried, " didn't I tell you I wanted you safe?! "

"Dad, " she sighed, " I'm sorry, alright, but things happened ... we have to all work together to do this. "

" Dad? " Kenny asked, " Mr Smith can't be your Dad! "

The Doctor shrugged, " It's a long story. "

There was no time to explain, because three Krillitanes swept towards them. The Doctor and the others turned on their heels and ran in the opposite direction. The Krillitanes seperated and only one of the persued the humans - and time lord and lady. They ran into the canteen, and found the doors on the otherwise were locked.

Whilst the Doctor groped for the sonic screwdriver, Finch and some of the Krillitanes came barging through the door.

" Are they my teachers? " Kenny asked.

" Yeah, " Lily said, " sorry. "

Finch turned around and told his fellow Krillitanes, " Leave the Doctor alive. As for the daughter and the others ... you can feast. "

As the Krillitanes swept down on them, they tried to beat them off with the chairs. They all tried to duck out of the way and all of a sudden, one of the Krillitanes was hit by a red beam and fell to the ground, dead.

Finch roared with rage as K9 crossed the room.

" I suggest you engage running mode, " K9 told them.

And so they ran. They ran as fast as they could, K9 shooting again, and again, and again at the Krillitantes. The Doctor reached a door and ushered everyone through it as K9 continued to defend them.

He slammed the door behind them, though K9 was left behind, moaning about his failing power supply.

The Doctor rushed them all into the Physics lab. He paced the room beofre clapping his hands togther gleefully, " Sudden brainwave. It's the oil! Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil! Their own oil it toxic to them - how much was there? "

" Barrels, " Rose replied - Lily noticed that Rose and Sarah Jane seemed to have reached an agreement whilst off in the Maths department.

They all jumped as the Krillitanes started to pound on the locked door, their claws ripping holes in it.

" Ok, we need to get to the kitchen," said the Doctor, " Mickey -"

" What now, hold the coats? " Mickey scoffed.

" Get all of the children out of the school, " the Doctor corrected, " unplug them from those freak computers they've linked them up to and get them out. Lily, you too. "

The Doctor and the others took off down the corridor, while Mickey and Lily went for the IT suites. None of the children payed any attention when they were told to go. They were all plugged into the computer and didn't respond to anything they were asked to do. Mickey looked around in confusion.

Lily noticed the protective casing on their headsets and followed the wires along. She saw the plug socket and yanked the plug out. The computers all sparked out and the trance was broken.

" Everyone out - now! " Mickey shouted.

They shouted at the children to get out of the room, and as they ran through the corridors, more and more children joined them from the other classrooms.

" Everyone outside! " Lily shouted loudly, " Let's move! Move it! "

Just as they'd gotten outside, and everyone was outside, there was the horrible yet glorious sound of Krillitanes screeching and wailing in pain. Moments later the school exploded and the children cheered.

Lily smiled as she looked at everyone rejoicing.

She saw her Dad and Sarah Jane stood apart from the crowd and rushed over to them.

The Doctor grabbed her at the waist and lifted her up, hugging her tightly. He planted a kiss on her cheek before putting her back down, " You did good, " he told her.

Lily noticed Sarah Jane's tears, " K9? " she asked, looking around the for faithful tin dog.

Sarah Jane shook her head.

Later on, Rose, Mickey, the Doctor and Lily were standing in the TARDIS when there was a knock at the door.

The Doctor swung it open happily to let Sarah Jane inside.

" You've redecorated!" Sarah Jane cried, looking around the place in wonderment, taking in everthing about it

" It's good, isn't it? " Lily asked.

Sarah Jane shrugged, " Oh, I do. I do. I liked it was it was, but yeah, it'll do! "

" I love it! " Rose said satisfied.

Sarah Jane smiled at Rose and nodded towards the Doctor, " You're more than a match for him, Rose. "

Rose grinned, " You and me both. "

The Doctor folded his arms and looked at Sarah Jane, " We were wondering ... "

" If you'd come with us? " Lily asked, " you might have fun. "

Sarah Jane smiled but shook her head, " No, I can't do this any more ... Besides, I've got much bigger adventures ahead! Time I stopped waiting for you and got a life of my own! "

Mickey looked at the Doctor, " Can I come? "

The Doctor and Lily were both suprised, and Rose didn't look too pleased.

" I want to see what's out there," Mickey said.

Sarah Jane smiled, " Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith ... Mickey Smith ... you need a Smith on board. " She looked at Lily, " An actual Smith, not one pretending to be a Smith when she really wants to be something else."

" Okay then," the Doctor nodded, "I could do with a laugh."

Rose rolled her eyes, and Mickey noticed this. " Is ... is that okay? " he aked.

" Sure," Rose said sarcastically, " why not? "

Lily knew that Rose wasn't impressed because she loved the Doctor, and didn't want Mickey around all of the time. There was a long, awkward pause, during which no-one knew quite where to look.

" Well, I'd better go," Sarah Jane said, taking Rose aside. The Doctor tried to ignore them, and turning to fiddle with the computer.

" You know they're talking about _you _don't they? " Lily muttered, standing at his side. The Doctor looked at her, and she continued, " why don't you just tell her how you feel? "

He just shook his head and said nothing, but from the look he gave her, she knew he didn't want to talk about it. It pained him too much.

Sarah came back inside and looked at Lily.

Lily smiled and the two women walked over to the TARDIS doors, where they spoke quietly.

" It was so good to see you," Sarah Jane said, " and I hope everything turns out alright for you. "

" I'm sure it will do, " said Lily, " I love him more than you'd ever think possible, but he's gone. There's nothing I can do about it now. "

" What was his name? " asked Sarah Jane.

" Jack," Lily smiled," Jack Harkness."

Sarah paused for a moment and said, " Hmmm. That sounds sort of ... familiar. It can't be though. "

"No," Lily said, "Jack's a common name, and you might not have heard it really. He ... he died in 200100. You couldn't possibly have ... "

" No, " Sarah said, " I can't have. I don't remember where I heard it either - I must have got it confused. "

" Well," Lily said with a smile, looking at Sarah Jane," until next time," she said, reaching out and giving the other woman a warm hug.

" I don't know that there'll be a next time, " replied Sarah Jane, " so you look after your Dad, and keep those lot in line. And look after yourself. "

Lily nodded, " Sarah Jane Smith. You've done well for yourself. "

And with that, she turned back into the TARDIS. The Doctor said his goodbyes and once again, they were on their way.

***

Little did Lily know, their adventure ended up in national newspapers.

And Captain Jack Harkness read about it.

After finding out that he couldn't die, Jack continued to search for Lily and the Doctor with all the determination and concentration he had. In 1899, he was discovered and recruited by Torchwood - an agency founded by Queen Victoria to protect the empire from alien threats.

Torchwood knew he coudn't die and after first torturing him for information about the Doctor, they recruited him to work for them.

Jack lived through the whole of the 20th century, working here and there, working for Torchwood, picking up aliens, stopping aliens.

It all changed for him in the year 2000. He strode into the Torchwood base - which was udnerneath Cardiff bay and the Millenium Square - to find that the rest of the Torchwood team were dead. The leader had killed them all to save them from what he believed the going to be an awful new century. Then he killed himself, leaving Jack to take control.

Jack remembered how he and Lily had shared their first kiss on a bench by Cardiff bay. He remembered how the pair of them had joked about building their own little innuendo squad, complete with someone who could make great coffee - since neither of them could - and lots of aliens and running.

He was going to turn Torchwood into a whole new institution, in memory of Lily and the Doctor. And he was still going to search for them.

Now, Jack was still the head of Torchwood. His team consisted of Dr Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato and Suzie Costello.

Jack was sat behind his desk when Suzie pushed open the door.

" Newspaper," she said," you should see the main story. You know that school near the UFO sightings ... the one with record results ... the one we were going to check out if things got weirder? "

"Yeah? " Jack asked, taking the paper from her.

" Yesterday it blew up and half of the staff disappeared. The kids are telling stories about screeching dinosaurs things or something. "

Jack scanned the page, and turned to the double page spread inside.

" It seems it's all over now," Suzie told Captain Jack, " the kids all say that the people who came in and put a stop to it, are those there," she said, pointing out a picture.

Jack looked down at the page and read the text outloud, " _Said to have been there and orchestrated getting the children safely out of the school and saving the day, are journalist Sarah Jane Smith, and two school teachers, as well as two un-named people. Physics teacher John Smith and English teacher Lily ... "_

He stopped, his breath catching in his throat.

Suzie looked at him in confusion, but she didn't even looked at her.

He looked back down at the paper, "_Lily Harkness, had only started working at the school two days ago. "_

There was a small picture with the caption "_Teachers John Smith and Lily Harkness" _underneath. It was the sort of picture that had been snapped when neither of them were paying attention.

They were standing facing each other. His beautiful Lily looked exactly the same as ever.

It was incredible that she was there, and he could hardly believe it. The Doctor however - becuase that was who John Smith _had _to be - looked different. A regeneration, Jack thought. Unless she wasn't with the Docotr, but it was unlikely that the Doctor would have let Lily go off on her own. Not knowing the way he was.

Jack just stared at the picture - they pair of them must have been undercover, he thought. He grinned when he thought of her using his name as an alias. He knew she'd never have forgotten him. He was so thrilled at this sign of them and he laughed.

He took note of the name of the school, and where it was, and tossed the paper aside.

" I've got to go, " he said, " I have to go see someone. "

" Jack? " Suzie asked, "is it the woman in the article? The one with your name? "

Jack just looked at her seriously, " I have to go and see if anyone's still at the school. All this time, I've been waiting and looking for her, and now she's been so close and I could have missed her. "

" Who is she? " Suzie asked.

" The other half of my soul. "

But by the time Jack got there, the TARDIS had long gone, as he had suspected it would. He was furious with himself for missing his opportunity, and could have kicked himself.

His chance, and he had blown it.

But he kenw from now on, he'd be keeping a closer eye. He could feel it coming on. The other half of his soul would be back soon. She had to be - he couldn't go on much longer without her.

He'd been broken for so long. He wasn't complete without her.


	8. Parallel World

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Chapter Eight

Mickey, Lily, Rose and the Doctor were sat in the console room.

Lily, Rose and the Doctor were trying to relate on of their crazier adventures to Mickey. They laughed speaking enthusiastically, and not noticing how Mickey wasn't following, and how he didn't seem very into it.

The Doctor laughed, " And that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes - do you remember her? The way she looked at you two! And then she opened her mouth and fire comes out! "

" I thought I was gonna get frazzled! " Rose laughed.

Lily nodded, "Yeah! One minute she's standing there, and the next - rawwwh! "

The three of them mimicked fire coming out of their mouths, laughing ridiculously loud.

Mickey just nodded, not really following, "Yeah? Where ... where was that? What happened again? "

The Doctor shrugged and waved his hand, " Oh, it was on this um .. uh, this planet thing, asteroid. Long sotry, you had to be there. And ... what're you doing that for? "

Mickey had one finger on a button on the console, and looked back at the Doctor in confusion, " 'Cos you told me to. "

The Doctor just blinked, " When was that? "

" About half an hour ago," Mickey replied.

" Oh," the Doctor said, shaking his head, " Um .. you can let go now. "

He let go, and Lily stifled a laugh behind her hand, while Rose sniggered.

" Well," Mickey said indignantly," how long since I could have let go? "

Lily was th one who laughed and replied, " Ten minutes ... " she paused, " or maybe twenty minutes .... twenty nine. "

" You all just forgot about me! " Mickey said, pointing at them accusingly.

" No! " the Doctor protested, " no, no, no. I was just - just calibrating. I was just ... I know exactly what I'm doing. "

And that was the moment that the TARDIS console chose to explode violently. Lily watched in horror as the console shot sparks and flames everywhere. The Doctor rushed to the console and tapped into the screen, Lily coming to his side.

The Doctor frantically tried to work the controls, but nothing was happening. They looked at the screen and then looked at each other in shock.

" That's impossible! " Lily declared, as they watched the screen.

" What? What's happening? " asked Rose in a panic.

The Doctor shook his head as he looked at the screen and then at Rose, shaking his head, " The time vortex! It's just gone - it's impossible - it's gone! "

The TARDIS continued to smoke and flame, as it fell through fire and through what should have been the time vortex.

" Brace yourselves! " the Doctor shouted, " we're gonna crash! "

The TARDIS got faster and faster as they fell, and there was more and more noise, until the TARDIS hit something and crashed . They were all thrown in different directions and Lily hit one side of the TARDIS hard. She groaned and tried to sit up slowly, wincing and rubbing her back where she'd hit it.

" Everyone alright? " the Doctor called, " Rose - Mickey? " he called over his shoulder, reaching down and grasping Lily's forearms, yanking her to her feet and looking her up and down.

" I'm fine, Dad," she told him. He looked at her for a moment longer, and nodded in satisfaction, looking around the TARDIS. He looked at the TARDIS - which was now dark and lifeless.

" The TARDIS is dead," he whispered, walking around the console slowly.

Lily looked around, shaking her head - it couldn't be dead. The TARDIS was their home ... and it wasn't doing anything. It was broken.

" You can fix it? " asked Rose asked hopefully.

" There's nothing to fix," the Doctor replied, " the last TARDIS in the universe and she'd ead ... they're all extinct now. "

" We'll get help then," Rose said.

Lily shook her head," From who? We fell through the vortex. "

The Doctor sighed, " Through the void and into nothingness. We're in some sort of no-place ... the silent realm ... the lost dimension ... "

" Otherwise known as London! " Mickey grinned, through open the doors of the TARDIS.

" What? " Lily frowned, stepping towards the door. She, her Dad and Rose walked out of the TARDIS and found that they were right in front of the Thames, in what looked very much like 21st Century London.

Mickey looked around, pleased with himself, " London. England. Earth. Hold on ... "

He plucked a newspaper from a nearby dustbin and looked at the date, " 1st of February, this exactly far flung, is it? "

" So, this is London," the Doctor nodded.

" Yep," Mickey nodded.

" Your city," the Doctor said.

" That's the one," Mickey nodded.

"Just as we left it? " the Doctor asked.

" Bang on," Mickey agreed.

" And that includes the Zeppelins? " asked the Doctor.

Lily and the others followed the Doctor's gaze, and saw that exactly as he'd said, the sky was filled with Zeppelins.

" They're beautiful," Rose said.

Mickey raised his eyebrows," Okay, so it's London with a big international zeppelin festival."

" This isn't your world," Lily said," right, Dad? "

" But," Mickey said, confused," if the date's the same ... it's parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel earth where they've got zeppelins and that? I'm right, aren't I? "

" Must be," the Doctor said.

" So," Rose started, " a parallel world where - '"

" Oh come on! " Mickey cried, " You see it on films. Like an alternative to our world, where everything's the same but a little bit different, like - I dunno. The traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected ... "

" And he's still alive," Rose said, distant.

She was gazing at a poster, and they all turned to looked at it. It was a huge poster of Pete Tyler, a succesful businessman, holding up a bottle of Vitex.

Rose sighed, " A parallel world where my dad's still alive. "

" Don't look at it," the Doctor said sternly," Don't even think about it, because this is _not _your world. "

" But he's my Dad," Rose said, shaking her head.

She moved forwards and touched the poster. The poster sprang to life and the poster Pete said " Trust me on this," and winked while give her the thumbs up. Rose stepped up and laughed, " Oh that's weird! He's real! "

" Trust me on this," the poster Pete said.

" He's a success," Rose said happily, " He was always planning these daft little schemes, health food drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless but he did it. "

The Doctor moved forwards and gripped Rose but the shoulders suddenly, bending slightly to looked in her eyes, " Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now. Stop looking at it! "

Rose reluctantly met his eyes and he nodded before continuing, " Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is _a _Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie - his own Rose. His own daughter, who is someone else, but not you. "

Rose's eyes started to wander back to the poster, but she stopped herself.

" You can't ever see him," the Doctor told Rose, " Not ever. "

Rose nodded and looked at the floor.

The Doctor sighed, " Now then. How about you got for a walk and get some fresh air? Nothing's going on here. "

Rose was gone before the Doctor had finished, and the Doctor rolled his eyes and turned to Mickey, " Keep an eye on her, will you? Don't let her do anything stupid. "

When Lily and the Doctor were left alone, Lily sighed and looked around.

" D'you think .... " she trailed off and shook her head.

" What? " the Doctor asked.

She chewed her lower lip nervously before saying quietly, " If this is all parallel, and people who are dead can be alive, right? "

" Oh, no," the Doctor said, shaking his head at her, " no, no, no, no, no. You can get that thought out of your head right now. Didn't you hear anything I said to Rose? "

" You don't understand," Lily said, " if there's a chance that I could see him again ... just to see him one last time. "

" You can't," the Doctor said.

Lily looked at him, pleading, " Dad, I have to. Just go see him, and see how he is, and how he's doing. It might be good for me ... closure or something. I just ... I love that man and he's no longer part of my life. If there's a chance that I can see him again, I can't let that go. "

The Doctor folded his arms and looked at her sternly, " I am not letting you go anywhere. You heard what I told Rose - if there _is _a Jack here, he's not your Jack. He'll have his own life, and he won't know anything about you. He won't know who you are. You can't just go find him and live happily ever after with him. "

" Don't," Lily said, swatting at him with one hand, " I know I can't be with him, I don't need to to tell me that. I just need to see him. "

" There's no guarantee that there _is _a Jack Harkness on this world. "

" But - "

" You can't," the Doctor said, shaking his head, " now come on ... let's just go for a walk for something. I need to look at the TARDIS, but we'll get some fresh air first. Try not to think about it. "

Lily huffed and folded her arms as they started to walk. The Doctor tried to cheer her up by talking about anything and everything, but she wasn't listening.

All she wanted to go was get away and see if she could find a Jack Harkness in this world. He probably wouldn't be hard to find - he was a flirt, so someone would have heard of him, if he lived around here. Then again, he wasn't open about his past or his life, so maybe he'd be some sort of elusive secret organisation that was hard to find.

But this was parallel, so if Jack was secretive in her world, then maybe he was open and high profile here. And if the real Jack was a flirt, then maybe Jack here would be settled down.

The thought of Jack settled down with someone who wasn't her, made her sick.

She knew she had to find out if there was a Jack here, and she knew her Dad wasn't going to let her.

So while they were standing looking out over the Thames, and the Doctor was rambling on about something she wasn't listening to, she took a step backwards. He was too busy talking and waving his arms around to notice where she was going.

She managed to slip off un-noticed. She watched from around the corner of one wall as he turned to his side, and realised she was no longer there. She watched him grasp at his hair and shake his head in annoyance, and as he shouted her name, and looked one way and the other, she realised she had to move, before he came after her and found her.

She ran down this street and that, and the next, until she was sure that she was out of his way.

She then walked slowly down the street, wondering where she was going to start.

She looked up at the skies and watched the zeppelins overhead. One was much bigger than the others, and had a logo on the underneath: Cybus. Lily vaguely wondered who Cybus were - must be someone important, judging by the size of the zeppelin.

The mobile phone - her "superphone" thanks to some tampering with - beeped and she reached into the pocket of the long black trench coat she had taken a liking to. She knew she liked it because it reminded her of Jack's long navy coat, but she tried to ignore that fact.

She looked at the screen of her phone. It read " Welcome - free trial period. "

She selected that option on the phone and a news feed appeared, while footage of the news started to play.

The Newsreader was shuffling papers whilst talking, " And it's good news for Great Britain, as John Lumic returns to the country of his birth. Mr Lumic, the inventor of high-content metal, has denied allegations of ill health. "

There was an older man with greying hair, who must be John Lumic, " We're all flesh and blood, but the brain is what makes us human. And my mind is more creative than ever. "

The newsreader continued, " With shares in Cybus Industries doubling in prices, Lumic -"

Lily turned the news report off and looked at what was on her phone: It was the internet. The Cybus Network. You could find anything on the internet. She sat down on a wall and searched the name Jack Harkness through the search engine.

She found his name easily.

The first search result read _Jack Harkness - Wikipedia. _The second was _Jack Harkness in latest Government Policies. _The third was _Captain Harkness as vice-president for second term._

Confusion, Lily clicked on the first option - he was on Wikipedia? Humans had everything on that stupid website.

After 15 minutes of digging around to find out more about him, she found that there was definitley a Captain Jack Harkness in the parallel world. He was an MP - he was the vice-president, no less. It seemed that there were presidents, not prime ministers, here.

She found out that Jack was a very well educated man who'd served in the army before turning to politics. But there was no wife, and no children. What shocked her the most was that Captain Jack Harkness had a _husband. _

Her Jack was married to some other guy. She knew he wasn't exactly straight, but he'd loved her so much, even if she'd never heard those actual words from him. And here he was, married to some guy. She sincerely hoped that _Ianto bloody Jones _was worthy of Jack.

Angrily stuffing her phone back into her pocket, she made her way back to the TARDIS. She still wanted to see him, but she hadn't found an adress, and she didn't want to run into his _husband. _She hoped they were happy together, she thought bitterly. She knew she was being ridiculous, but Jack belonged to her, even if this Jack didn't know it.

***

**Author's Note: Just a bit of the episode, because I wanted to get something uploaded today, and might not have time to write the rest.**


	9. Rise of the Cybermen

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Chapter Nine

Lily walked back to the TARDIS, her mind filled with thoughts of Jack. He was married to a man here, and she couldn't quite accept that. She knew the Jack of this world wasn't her Jack, but he was still Jack.

It brought back all of the times they had together, and all the fun they'd had. He couldn't have that fun with someone else - _no one _would ever have what they had.

As she walked, she was too lost in her thoughts to notice the people straight in front of her.

" Lily! "

Her head snapped up and she saw her Dad rushing towards her, relief etched across his face. He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head protectively, before his concern turned to anger and he narrowed his eyes at her. Mickey was there too, but he said and did nothing as the Doctor leapt into action.

" I told you I didn't want you going off on your own! You just ran out on me! Anything could have happened to you - this is a different world, for God's sake! "

Lily just sighed, " I know. " A pause, and then she blurted out, " He's married. "

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, " I'm sorry? "

" Jack," Lily told him, tears filling her eyes, " I searched for him on the Cybus Network and found him. He's this big-shot MP and he's all succesful. But he's married. To a man. " She sighed and stamped her foot childishly, " Jack's _my _boyfriend, and he's gone off and married someone with a stupid name and probably a stupid face! "

The Doctor shook his head and laid his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye, " Lils, have I ever failed you before? "

Lily badly wanted to mention leaving Jack's body to rot on the Game Station, but said nothing.

" Exactly," the Doctor said, " so you have to believe me, when I tell you that this isn't real. He's not your boyfriend, and he doesn't know who you are. And you certainly can't blame the Jack in this world, or his ... husband. "

Lily just nodded and the Doctor dropped his hands from her shoulders and nodded, " Good," he told her. There was a pause, before he added with a laugh, " trust Jack to have been with a woman in one world and married to man in another. "

Lily glared at him, " Shut up. I don't feel like joking about my boyfriend's sexuality. "

" He's not your boyfriend here," the Doctor said, " he's not your boyfriend at all anymore, of course, but he never was here. "

Lily felt like punching him, but tried to remain calm and said nothing. The Doctor said something about finding Rose, and Lily wasn't paying much attention until he grasped her hand.

" You don't need to hold my hand," she said indignantly, " I'm not a child. "

" Yeah," the Doctor said, " but I can't trust you not to go and find him, so you're sticking with me. "

Lily tried to pull her hand free, but the Doctor gripped it tighter and gave her the sort of look that told her not to argue with him.

She glared at him, but he just shook his head. " You're not too old for a spanking you know," he told her.

" You've never hit me in my life," Lily replied.

" I'll start if that's what it takes for you to listen to me," the Doctor said.

Lily knew he wouldn't, but stopped arguing with him.

She was in silence as they walked around, looking for Rose. The Doctor was rambling on, lecturing her about the dangers of getting involved with the parallel Jack, and how much it would hurt her, but she wasn't listening.

Instead, she was imagining all the scenarios in which she could meet this parallel Jack. She would tell him all about their relationship in her world, and then he'd forget about his _husband _and he'd come away with them, back to their world, and she'd have him back. She knew it wouldn't work like that, but she didn't care.

They found Rose sitting on a bench.

" Good news, " the Doctor said as he approached Rose, "I fixed it," he held up a power cell, which he'd also shown Lily, though she'd paid little attention, " 24 hours and we can go back to reality. "

" What is it? " Mickey asked Rose, who was looking very down.

" My phone connected, " Rose said, " there this ... Cybus Network - connected my phone to the internet. "

The Doctor sighed - now he had both Lily and Rose to deal with. " Rose," he said, " whatever it says, this is the wrong world. "

" I don't exsist," Rose said.

" What? " asked the Doctor in confusion.

" There's no Rose Tyler, " Rose told them, " I was never born. There's Pete, my dad, Jackie, my mum. He still married my mum ... but they never had any kids. "

The Doctor tried to snatch away the phone, " Give me that. "

Rose held the phone away from him, " They're rich. They've got a house, and cars and everything they could want. But they haven't got me. "

She was close to tears, and Lily knew how she felt. Pete and Jackie Tyler didn't have their daughter. Jack Harkness didn't have his girlfriend.

Rose looked at the Doctor, " I've got to see him. "

" You can't," the Doctor argued.

" I just wanna see him! " Rose said.

" I can't let you," the Doctor said, shaking his head.

" You said we had 24 hours here! " Rose said angrily.

" And you can't just go become their daughter," the Doctor said, " Mickey, tell her. "

" 24 hours? " Mickey asked, starting to walk away.

" Where are you going? " the Doctor demanded, clinging tighter to Lily's hand - Mickey and Rose wanted to escape, and he wasn't going to have her wandering off too.

" I've got thing to do, " Mickey shrugged, shouting over his shoulder.

Rose started walking in the opposite direction, " I've got an adress and everything. "

The Doctor looked frantically from one to the other, as they walked in the opposite directions. " Stay where you are, both of you! " he shouted, " Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here, right now! "

" I just wanna see him, " Rose said, making Lily wish that she could go see Jack, however furious she was about him having another life here.

" I've got things to do here too," Mickey shrugged.

" Like _what? " _the Doctor demanded.

" Well, you don't know anything about me, do ya? " Mickey scoffed, walking away before turning around and adding, " It's all about Rose, isn't it? I'm just the spare part! "

" I'm sorry," Rose said, " I've got to go. "

The Doctor looked from one to the other, and Lily knew who they were going to follow before the Doctor made his move.

Mickey knew too. He laughed and gestured to Rose, " Well go on then," he said, " you can only go after one of us, and it's never gonna be me, is it? "

Rose sped up and was now striding away. The Doctor shouted his apologies to Mickey and told him to be back in 24 hours, before running after Rose and dragging Lily along with him.

When they caught up with Rose, the Doctor convinced Rose not to go straight to Jackie and Pete's. Instead, the three of them were walking down the street, just talking.

They were strolling down the street together when Lily asked Rose who Mickey would have gone to see.

" His grandma, maybe" Rose replied, as they walked, the Doctor inbetween them, " she's the only family he was ever really close to. "

" What about his parents? " asked Lily, who had been released from the Doctor's tight grip, and who for now, had decided to let it go. She wanted to find Jack, but she knew she couldn't escape her Dad's watchful looks. And she was nervous about what would happen anyway if she met him.

Rose shook her head, " Mickey's mum just couldn't cope. His dad stuck around for a while, but then he just sort of wandered off. He was brought up by his gran. She was such a great woman. God, she used to slap him! " Rose laughed but then sobered up, " And then she died. She tripped and fell down the stairs. Must be 5 years ago now, I was still in school. "

" I never knew," Lily said quietly.

" You never asked," Rose replied calmly.

" You never said, to be fair," the Doctor pointed out.

" That's Mickey I suppose," Rose said with a slight shrug, " I guess we just take him for granted. Do you think she's still alive - his gran? "

" Could be," the Doctor said, " a parallel world is like a gingerbread house. We need to get out of here as fast as possible. "

A short alarm sounded and the three of them looked around, confused, as everyone on the street suddenly stopped moving.

" What're they all doing? " asked Rose.

" They've stopped," said the Doctor.

They were all wearing earpieces, which flashed and beeped quietly. The Doctor paused and stopped by one man, squinting at his earpiece.

He looked at it, and then looked at Lily and Rose, " It's the earpieces. Like Bluetooth attachments ... everyone's connected together. "

Rose's phone beeped, as did Lily's. Lily's was in the Doctor's pocket however because he'd confiscated it. Rose pulled out her phone and looked down at it, " It's automatic. It's downloading - it that what they're all getting? "

Lily looked over her shoulder, and the Doctor also appeared at her side.

Rose looked down at her phone and read off it while scrolling down, " News ... international news ... weather, "

" They get it direct," the Doctor said, " downloaded right into their heads. "

Rose continued to look at her phone, " Tv schedules ... lottery numbers ... "

" So," Lily said, " they all share the same information ... look there - daily download published by Cybus Industries."

There was a pause and everyone started moving and going about their business again. The Doctor took Lily's phone from his pocket and started looking through it, checking out the Cybus Network.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Rose, " You lot, you're obsessed. You'd do anything for the latest upgrade. "

" Not my lot," Rose said with a frown, " different world, remember? "

" It's not _so _far off your world," the Doctor told her, pressing a few buttons on Lily's phone. " There," he said, showing them the phone, " Oh, look at that. Cybus Industries owns just about every company in Britain, including Vitex. Mr Pete Tyler's _very _well connected. "

Rose looked at the Doctor and smiled innocently, giving him the wide puppy dog eyes until the sighed.

" Oh, okay, I give up. Lets go see him," the Doctor said, giving in.

Lily's mouth dropped slightly, " Dad! You never give in when I do that! "

" I do! " the Doctor said, " just not when you want to see the parallel version of your dead boyfriend, who happens to now be married and won't have any idea who you are. "

" Oh, so you found Jack? " asked Rose.

Lily sighed, " Yeah. Yeah, I did. He's the Vice-President of Great Britain now. Doing well enough for himself, except that he's married some bloke with a very weird name, and who won't be good enough for him. "

" Let's just go to Rose's adress, shall we? " the Doctor asked, trying to distract from Jack.

Pete and Jackie's house was a huge luxurious looking mansion. An expensive flash car drove up to the house, and the Doctor noted this, " Pete and Jackie have got visitors. "

" February the 1st, " Rose said, " Mum's birthday. Even in a parallel world, she still loves to party. "

" Well," the Doctor said, " given Pete Tyler's connections, this will be some guest list. I wouldn't mind taking a look. And there's one way to guarantee getting inside. "

He pulled a piece of psychic paper from his coat and waved it around.

" Who do you want to be? " he asked.

***

It was Lily's suggestion to be staff - hired help gossiped more than anyone, and had the chance to get close and hear what everyone else was talking about. The Doctor commended her suggestion, and they found themselves in the kitchen of the Tyler's mansion house.

Lily stood there in a black and white waitress outfit, holding a tray of canapes, while Rose was dressed in an identical outfit, with a tray, and the Doctor was wearing a smart black dinner suit.

" We could've been anyone," Rose said under her breath.

" Don't knock it," Lily said, " got us in didn't it? "

Rose sighed, " You two have pyschic paper. We could have been guests. Celebrities. Sir Doctor, Lady Lily, Dame Rose. But no, we end up serving. I had enough of this back home. "

The Doctor gave her a smile, " If you wanna know what's going on, work in the kitchens. "

They both retreated slightly to the edge of the room, where they watched people milling around the room, chatting and laughing away.

The Doctor nodded towards a black man standing in the middle of the room, " According to Lucy, that's the - '"

" Who's Lucy? " asked Rose.

" She's over there," the Doctor said," carrying the salmon pinwheels. "

Rose looked at the young waitress and shook her head, narrowing her eyes slightly, " Oh, that's Lucy is it? " she asked, a little jealously.

" Yeah," nodded the Doctor, " Lucy says that that man there is the president of Great Britain. "

" Wait, there's a president - not a prime minister? " Rose asked.

" I could have told you that," muttered Lily.

" Seems so," the Doctor nodded to Rose.

Rose scoffed, " Or maybe's Lucy's just a little bit thick. "

They fell silent as Pete Tyler entered the room and thanked all of his guests for coming. Jackie Tyler entered the room, laughing and waving at everything, thanking them for being at her "39th" and telling them to have a good time.

Rose watched Pete and Jackie mingle, wistfully.

" You can't stay," the Doctor told Rose quietly, " even if there was some way of telling them. "

" I know," Rose said, "I've got my real mum, at home. I couldn't just leave her, could I? It's just ... they've got each other. Mum's got no-one. "

" She's got you! " the Doctor said, shaking his head, " those two haven't! All these different worlds, and not one of them gets it right. "

Rose went off to serve and the Lily said quietly, " I could stay. "

The Doctor's head snapped towards her quickly, " What? No you couldn't. "

Lily looked at her Dad, but felt guilty, and looked down at the ground. She sighed before saying, " Rose has got her real mum at home, but I don't have the real Jack waiting for me. This Jack is the only one I'm going to be able to have. If I could get to him, and explain everything to him, I could stay here. Jack and I were great together - he'd fall for me again, and we'd be happy again. "

" He's married here," the Doctor said.

" He was mine first," Lily said, still avoiding his eyes, " he could always get a divorce when he realised how great we are for each other. "

" This is dangerous," the Doctor said, " you can't tell him about the parallel world - he'd never believe you. And this isn't your world. He's got his own life here. He's not your Jack. "

" But he could be," Lily said, " I could stay here, and I'd adapt to a new world."

" And what about _me? "_

Lily's eyes widened as she heard the hurt in his voice. He sounded upset and disappointed in her.

" Look at me," he said.

Lily looked at him, and as her eyes met his, she saw with great suprise that he was looking hurt, and there was even the hint of a suggestion of a tear in his eye.

He sighed and said, " You might not have Jack for you in the non-parallel world, but you've got me. There's only one of you, and I don't think I could bear it if you weren't around. "

Lily said nothing.

The Doctor continued, " I love you Lily, and I'd be lost without you sometimes. I won't let you stay here. "

Lily smiled, " Don't talk like that," she said, " my emotions are always all over the place since what happened to Jack. You'll make me cry. I couldn't manage without you either. I need you _and_ Jack in my life. "

The Doctor shook his head, " You're not staying here. "

Lily nodded sadly, " I know," she said, before moving closer to her Dad, and planting a kiss on his cheek quickly, " I love you too, and now I have to go and serve people. "

She walked away and as she walked around the room, she thought that if the President was here, there was no reason that the Vice-President couldn't be. She wandered around offering out her tray, and seeing if she could spot Jack anywhere.

Then there he was.

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt like running over there and throwing her arms around him and never letting go.

He was standing a short way off, looking as charming and handsome as he'd ever been, his wide grin plastered across his face. He was wearing his beloved navy greatcoat with navy trousers, a blue shirt and red braces. It reminded her of how he'd looked the day they'd met, and of all the feelings she'd felt then, and ever since then.

He wasn't standing with the husband and she found herself wondering where he was. Maybe the five or six different websites she'd looked at had gotten it wrong. She knew it was a long shot ... but ....

She decided that she was going to go over there and offer him something- it was the only way that she could make contact with him. But much to her annoyance, some passing woman in a bright orange dress took the last canape from the tray, and she realised that she had no way to make contact.

She headed back to the kitchen and collected a tray of chese pinwheels.

She gave herself a moment to compose herself and decided that it was now or never. She had to just get out there and make a bit of contact with Jack, or she'd never be able to let it go.

As she rounded the corner, meaning to go back into the party room, she walked straight into something solid. She gasped and the tray slid from her fingers, knocking bits of cheese to the ground.

" Oh god," she muttered, kneeling to pick up the food that would now go to waste hastily," I'm so sorry," she added, feeling far too embarrassed to look up at the man she'd bumped into it.

A pale hand reached out and picked up the tray she'd dropped, and she looked up to see that the person she'd bumped into had knelt down to help her.

" It's no trouble," he said, " I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking. I was coming to get a glass of champagne for me and my partner - everyone in there's drinking it pretty fast. "

Lily smiled at the man as she picked the bits of the cheese up and dumped it back on the tray. She looked at the man - he was quite young - only a couple of years older than her own physical appearance - maybe 26 or 27. He was wearing a smart black suit with a pink shirt and a pink tie. He was quite good looking too - pale skin, soft brown hair, bright blue eyes.

He stood up and Lily stood up too, " I'm sorry, " she repeated, " I don't usually throw food over the guests," she said, " and I'd have been in trouble if I'd done it to a more demanding guest. "

The man shrugged," No harm done. Especially when the young waitress in question is such a polite person. "

Lily smiled at him, " Well, the least I can do it get you these glasses of champagne then. "

She disappeared and dumped the tray of cheese in the bin, grabbing a tray on champagne glasses and holding it out to the young, friendly welshman she'd just met.

" Thank you," he said.

" You're welcome, Mr - " she stopped, realising she didn't know the name of the good looking, polite young man.

The man smiled, " Jones. Ianto Jones. "

Lily had to stop herself from running away right there and then. She was shocked that this nice man, who seemed like a good person, was the one who her Jack - _not _her Jack, she reminded herself - was married to. She wanted to hate the person who had snapped Jack up, but he was hard to hate. Trust her to start befriending someone and _then _realise it was the person she didn't want anything to do with.

Ianto Jones looked at her for a moment, " Are you alright? You look a little ... out of it. "

Lily shook her head, " No, no I'm fine. "

Ianto took a sip of his drink and leaned in, lowering his voice conspiritorially, " D'you want to know a secret? "

Lily just nodded.

Ianto laughed, " I'm not even a celebrity. All these people are here because they're someone big and famous, or something. I'm just here because my husband's a big-shot politician. Don't tell him that though, or he'll get a big head. "

She smiled and laughed along with him, because it sounded like Jack alright.

" That sounds like Jack," she said to herself, not even realising that she'd spoken out loud until Ianto looked at her, giving her an odd look.

" I'm sorry? " he asked, sure he'd heard wrong.

Lily looked at him wide eyed caught out, but didn't have to explain because the subject of their conversation came along, announcing his precense loudly.

" Ianto, you gorgeous welshman! " he called as he strode towards his husband, " I was beginning to think you'd left me. "

" Course not," Ianto said, looking a little embarrassed as Jack threw an arm around his waist, " I was just talking to ... "

" Um... Lily," Lily said with a stammer, staring at Jack caught out. She had no idea what to say to him, or anything. She just couldn't believe he was here. It hurt so much to see him again and bring all the old memories up, but thrilled that she got to see him again.

" Nice to meet you, Lily," Jack said, flashing her his trademark grin.

She was almost instantly dazzled by him, until she reminded herself that things were different here.

" Jack," Ianto said, shaking his head at his lover, " leave the poor girl alone. "

Lily continued to stare at Jack and Jack noticed this and grinned at her, " I take it you recognise me," he said, " you follow the politics? "

" Not especially," Lily shrugged, having to fight herself to remain calm and get her words out, " but everyone knows who Captain Jack Harkness is, right? " she said, allowing a grin to spread across her face.

Jack smiled, " That's right, baby. "

Lily's heart poudned faster and faster and she could feel her cheeks heat up as he called her by the nickname he'd always reserved for her.

Ianto rolled his eyes and laid a hand on Jack's arm, " I think that's enough flirting for now, don't you? " he asked.

Jack grinned at his husband, " Sorry, Yan. " He looked back at Lily with a grin, " what can I say? The old ball and chain. You know what it's like, right? "

Lily shrugged, " Not really. There just me. "

Jack shook his head, " No. "

Lily sighed, " There was someone ... but not anymore. "

" I don't believe it," Jack said with a charming grin, " a beautiful woman like you, without a boyfriend? Now, that's when I know there's something wrong with the world. "

Lily smiled politely, " Why, thank you Captain, but I think I'd better get on with serving the other guests. If you'll excuse me Captain ... Mr Jones ... "

" Of course," Ianto nodded.

Lily turned away and went off into the room, hiding herself in the crowd.

She'd had to get away from Jack and Ianto, because she didn't think she could deal with any more of them. It was all too much, and she knew if she spent more time standing there with him, she was in danger of either crying, or jumping him.

It was all going so well - or as well as she could expect it to go - until he'd started flirting and then he'd called her beautiful.

As she stood there feeling so many different things - Hurt and upset that the man she loved so much didn't love her the same. Still angry and annoyed that the Jack of this world was with someone else. But thrilled that she'd found a Jack here in the first place. Confused because Jack's husband seemed like such a man, even if she wanted to hate him. And quite happy that Jack had spoken to her and she'd to see him. She was feeling way more emotions than she knew was good for her.

Her thoughts and emotional ponderings were interrupted when her Dad appeared, looking grave and deadly serious.

" What's wrong? " she asked quietly.

He took hold of her arm and navigated her through the room, where he managed to pick out Rose too.

They stopped by the window and as Lily looked through the window, she saw shadowy figures in the distance, making a Boom, boom, boom, boom noise as they walked.

The Doctor looked at Lily, " Cybus," he said," Cybus. Remind you of anything? "

Lily looked at him blankly for a moment before the horrible realisation dawned, " No," she whispered," you don't mean ... "

" Yeah," the Doctor said, " I've seen them before. It's happening again. "

" What are they? " Rose asked, looking in confusion from the horror etched on both of her friends faces.

They were suddenly much closer, and they moved stomping towards them, stomping and stomping. They were crossing the grounds of the school, and several of them smashed through the windows of the house.

Everyone cowered as cybermen burst through the full length glass windows. Everyone watched in horror as they were circled into the room, surrounded until they had no way to escape.

The President's communication device beeped," Lumic," he said distastefully, " I forbade this. "

" What are they? " Rose whispered," robots? "

" Worse, " the Doctor said.

" Who were these people? " the President said over his communication device, to Lumic.

" They're people? " Rose whispered, suprised.

" They were," Lily said grimly.

" Until they had their humanity taken away," the Doctor said," it's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body. With a heart of steel. All emotions removed. "

" Why no emotions? " asked Rose.

" Because it hurts," said the Doctor.

The President's voice rose as he said, " I demand to know, Lumic - who were these people? " They couldn't hear the response, but the President hung up.

One of the Cybermen stopped its foot and looked at everyone.

" We have been upgraded," it said.

" Into what? " asked the Doctor.

" The next level of humanity, " was the robotic reply," we are human point two. Every citizen will recieve a free upgrade. You will become like us. "

" No," the President said, stepping forwards, " I'm so sorr for what's been done to you," he told the Cyberman," but listen to me - this experiment ends here, tonight. "

" Upgrading is compulsory, " said one of the Cybermen.

" And if I refuse? " the President asked.

" Don't," the Doctor advised, taking a step forwards.

" What if I refuse? " the President repeated, ignoring the Doctor.

The Doctor sighed, " I'm telling you, don't. "

" What happens if I refuse? " asked the President.

" Then you are not compatible," the Cyberman told him.

" Then what? " the President challenged.

" Then you will be deleted," replied the Cyberman.

" No! " Lily shouted, watching in horror as the Cyberman grabbed the President at the neck and shocked him. He was engulfed by an electric blue light, and with a cry of pain, he slumped to the ground, motionless. The crowd started to scream and run off in different directions.

Lily watched as Jack stepped forward to try and take control, " Everybody remain calm! " he shouted, though no-one listened to him and they continued to run in different directions.

Some were grabbed by the Cybermen and killed while they ran aroud desperately.

The Doctor grabbed Lily's hand and then Rose's hand, pulling them both outside and taking them out of one of the broken windows.

When they were out there, they looked this way and that. Lily turned around to look back in the building and saw Jack and Ianto standing there, trying to decide which way to run. Lily knew that she couldn't stand there while Jack was in trouble, even if he wasn't the right Jack. She needed to know Jack was safe ... and she supposed that Ianto was a nice enough bloke too.

In fact, he was polite, kind and rather handsome. She hated that he was a perfect partner for Jack - exactly someone who was good enough for Jack.

" Jack! " she shouted loudly," get out here! "

Jack met her eyes at once and didn't hesitate in grabbing Ianto's arm and dragging him outside. When he came to stand beside them, he grinned at Lily.

" This is turning out to be some party, huh? "

She nodded, " You bet. I've got a feeling there's going to be a hell of a lot of running. "

Jack laughed - a sound that she relished - and told her, " I can do running. Hell, have you seen my body? I've got no problem with running. "

" Jack," Ianto said quietly, trying to make Jack shut up, while Lily blushed - she'd seen his body many times. He didn't need to know that, she decided.

" We have to move it! " the Doctor shouted, looking around at everyone.

Lily smiled at Jack, and rolled her eyes, " You'll have to excuse my dad," she said," but he knows what he's doing in a crisis. "

Jack smirked, " I don't mind. He's kind of cute. "

Ianto sighed and gave Lily an apologetic smile, " You'll have to excuse my husband. He feels the need to flirt with anything and everything. "

The Doctor ran off up the slope closely followed by everyone else. Rose spotted Pete and shouted at him to follow them. The Doctor, Lily, Rose, Pete, Jack and Ianto ran up the slope only to be met by hordes of Cybermen. They changed direction and ran around the back of the house. More cybermen.

They than ran to the front of the house, their only escape, but found that they were stuck.

" There's no way out! " the Doctor yelled.

" Side gates! " Pete shouted, as they headed for said side gates.

" Who are you people anyway? " Pete added as they ran as fast as they could.

" You wouldn't believe us in a millions years, " the Doctor said, shaking his head.

" You're mental! " Jack shouted.

" Definitley," agreed Lily.

They all skidded to a halt as they were met by another row of Cybermen and were forced to changed direction again. They saw two figures run towards the front of the house big huge guns.

" Who's that? " Rose asked.

" Get behind me! " some who looked exactly like Mickey shouted, as he and a man with blond spiky hair approached them, and stood in front of them all.

They fired their guns at the Cybermen and thankfully, the Cybermen stopped marching.

Rose sighed with relief and looked at the man who looked like Mickey. She straightened the front of his jacket and pulled him into a tight hug.

" I never thought I'd see you again! " she breathed.

He pulled away from her, " Yeah, no offence sweetheart, but who the hell are you? "

As they all looked at the man who looked like Mickey in confusion, the actual Mickey sprinted towards them.

" Rose! " he shouted, stopping when he saw them," that's not me. That like ... the other one. The parallel one. "

The Doctor laughed, " Oh, as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickey's! "

" It's Ricky," corrected the Mickey that wasn't really Mickey.

Mickey gestured around at the Cybermen, " There's more of them. "

" We're surrounded," Rose said, as Cybermen approached them from behind, and from the sides, as Ricky raised his gun.

The Doctor shook his head," Bullets won't stop them. "

Ricky ignored him and tried shooting, but the Doctor knocked the gun out of his hands, " No! " he shouted, before turning to the Cybermen, " We surrender. Hands up everyone! "

Lily - like the Doctor, and everyone else - put her hands up in the air nervously. This was awful, and the only thing that made it slightly better was the presence of Jack. Unless Jack died, then it would just be awful.

The Doctor continued, " There's no need to damage us ... we're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed. "

" You are rogue elements," the Cyberman at the front said.

" But we surrender, " the Doctor told them.

" You are incompatible," the Cyberman simply said.

" But this is a surrender! " the Doctor shouted.

" You will be deleted," the Cyberman said.

The Doctor shook his head, frantically, " But we're surrendering! Listen to me! We surrender! "

" You are inferior," the Cyberman said," Man will be reborn as cyberman, but you will perish under maximum deletion. "

Lily was terrified and tried to move closer to her Dad - they were seperated by quite a few people - but Jack grabbed her arm and held her fast, " Don't move," he said, " I get the feeling that these guys aren't going to take kindly to sudden rebellions. "

Lily was too shocked by his order to her, and the way he said it so confidently, to move, so she did as she was told.

The cybermen chanted, " Delete. Delete. Delete," and it looked like they were going to have trouble getting out of this one.


	10. Age of Steel

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Chapter Ten

They were surrounded by Cybermen, and Lily felt certain that they weren't going to get out of this one easily. She held her breath as the Cybermen all chanted and stomped their feet. She hoped her dad had a plan up his sleeve, and as usual, he didn't disappoint.

She watched as the Doctor pulled the power cell from the TARDIS from his pocket, and pointed it at the Cybermen. A golden light shot out from it and hit all of the Cybermen. It bounded off each one of them, and onto the others - the next thing they knew, all of them had been disintegrated.

" What the hell was that? " Ricky asked.

Ianto looked around at everyone, " Might I suggest running? " he asked, rather politely.

The Doctor nodded, " Yeah," he said calmly, before raising his voice and shouting, " RUN! "

Lily, along with the others, made a move for the gates. As they started to run, she twisted her ankle and hissed in a mixture of pain and annoyance. She felt someone grab her arm at the elbow and hurry her forwards, and when she looked by, her Dad was there.

" You alright? " he asked quickly.

" I guess so," she nodded, " where are we going? What do we do? "

The question was answered by a large blue van driving through the gates, the horn honking loudly. The window was wound down, and a woman with cropped white hair shouted, " Everybody get in! "

Pete tried to run back into the house for Jackie, and Lily heard the Doctor telling him if Jackie was in there, she was already dead. Rose also hesitated, but the Doctor pushed her forwards.

The woman driving the van - Mrs Moore - looked around at them: Lily, parallel Jack and his husband Ianto, the Doctor, Rose, parallel Pete, Mickey, Ricky and Jake.

" Finished chatting? " she demanded, " never seen a slower getaway in my life! "

" Who _are _these people? " Rose asked, " are we safe now? "

" It's fine," Mickey said, " I met them earlier - long story, but they're alright. "

Then they were in silence, some confused and others worried, all scared and unsure. It was a silence that no-one knew quite how to break, until Rose looked around and seemed to notice for the first time, Jack.

She looked from him to Lily and said without thinking, " You found him then. "

Lily wanted to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. She just nodded.

Rose looked back to Jack and then to Ianto, " Oh," she said, registering his precense, and Lily's sadness.

" What's going on? " Jack asked," do you ladies know something I should? "

Lily shook her head quickly, " No, we ... no. " As Jack regarded her, she blushed furiously and looked down at the floor, only looking up once he'd looked away. This is was too awkward and too strange for her to bear and she didn't know where to look.

The Doctor sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. He muttered in her ear so no-one else could hear, though they all watched curiously, " Didn't I tell you not to find him? " he muttered.

" I know," she replied, turning into his shoulder, so her voice was muffled against him, " but I couldn't resist. "

" Don't get too close to him," the Doctor told her," you'll only get hurt. "

" I know," she said, turning away from him. He rubbed her shoulder lightly before dropping his hand from her. Lily knew no good could come of getting close to Jack, and she'd only torture herself, but she couldn't resist. It was Jack, still, and she needed him. Even if all she could have was 24 hours or whatever, with a parellel version who didn't love her in return.

" What was that thing you shone, anyway? " Ricky asked, turning around to look at the Doctor from the passenger seat.

" Little bit of technology from my home," the Doctor replied.

" It's stopped glowing," said Mickey," has it run out? "

The Doctor shook his head, " It's on a revitalising loop - it'll charge in about 4 hours. "

" So we don't have a weapon anymore," Ricky said sulkily.

" We've got weapons," Jake disagreed," might not be some glowing thing, but they're good enough for men like _him," _he said, glaring at Pete.

Rose narrowed her eyes," Leave him alone! " she said shrilly," what's he done wrong? "

Jake continued to glare as everyone turned to look at him at confusion and curiosity, " Oh, you know - just laid a trap that's wiped out the government. And left Lumic in charge. "

" Don't be ridiculous," scoffed Pete," if I was part of what just happened, would I leave my wife inside? "

" Maybe your plan went wrong," Ricky said bitterly," still gives us the right to execute you though. "

" No-one is going to die," Lily said firmly. She'd never liked the idea of anyone dying, but since Jack's death, she'd been completely against anyone dying if they could be saved at all, " you don't go around killing everyone who's bugged you. "

" All the same," Ricky said, " we have evidence that Pete Tyler's been working for John Lumic since 20.5. "

" Is that true? " Rose asked of him, taken aback.

" Tell 'em, Mrs M," Ricky prompted.

Mrs Moore nodded as they continued to drive, " We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files ... his southern american operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week. "

" Broadcasts from Gemini? " Pete asked.

" And how would _you _know that? " demanded Mickey.

" I'm Gemini," Pete told them, " that's ME. "

" Yeah, well you would say that now you've been caught out, wouldn't you? "

Pete rolled his eyes, " Encrypted wavelength 657 using binary nine, right? That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services, and what do I get? Scooby-doo and his gang. They've even got a van! "

Mickey shook his head, " No, no, no. The Preachers know what they're doing. You're wrong Pete. Ricky said he's London's most wanted! "

" Well ... " Ricky said, looking down sheepishly, " not exactly. "

" What? " Mickey demanded.

Ricky looked embarrassed as he admitted, " I'm London's most wanted for parking tickets. "

" Great," Pete muttered.

" They were deliberate! " Ricky insisted, defensively," I was fighing the system! Park anywhere, that's me ... "

" Good policy," grinned the Doctor, " I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested. "

" Lily," Lily said quietly.

" And I'm Rose," added Rose.

" Even better," Pete laughed, " that's the name of my dog. Still - at least I've got the catering staff and the country's vice-president on my side. "

Jack cleared his throat, " You know, now the President's dead, that _does _make me acting president. Feel free to call me Mr. President - that sounds kind of sexy. "

" Jack," Ianto mumbled, embarrassed, " this is _not _the time or the place. "

Pete sighed, changing the conversation, " They took my wife. "

" She might still be alive," Rose said, trying to be optimistic.

" That's even worse," Pete said, " 'cos that's what Lumic does. He takes the living, and he turns them into those machines. "

" Cybermen," the Doctor said, as all eyes turned to him, " they're called Cybermen. And I'd take your earpods off if I were you - you never know ... Lumic might be listening. "

Pete oblidged and took off his earpods and gave them to the Doctor, who disabled them with his sonic screwdriver before continuing, " Lumic's overreaching himself. He's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the president. All we need to do is get to the City and inform the authorities, because I promise you - this ends tonight. "

Everyone seemed to relax once they knew what they were going to do.

Lily watched as Rose looked at Pete

Rose smiled at him gently, " I knew you weren't a traitor. "

" Why's that then? " Pete asked.

" Just did, " Rose replied.

Lily didn't mean to, but she found herself unable to stop the scoff that escaped from her lips. It was only soft, but the disbelieveing noise cut through the silence, and Rose looked at her quickly.

" What? "

" Nothing," Lily said, folding her arms and trying to look innocent.

" No, what? " Rose demanded, her voice rising in volume, immediately creating an awkward and uncomfrtable atmosphere as everyone wondered what was going on.

" It's just," Lily started, knowing she wouldn't be able to back out of this now, and deciding she might as well say it, " you don't even know him, and you're so quick to trust him. You don't know him. "

" How can you say that? " Rose demanded, " you know all about ... everything. "

" No," Lily said, " you were so young when it happened - you don't even remember him, and you act like it's messed the rest of your life up. You -"

" Shut up," Rose said, shaking her head, " I know enough about him to know that he can be trusted. "

" It's not that I don't trust him, " Lily said," I just don't approve of the way you're so ready to jump right in there. "

Everyone looked at them in confusion except the Doctor, who looked at them knowing he should stop them - everyone else was completely confused, and if the two women continued, they'd end up spilling the beans on the parallel universe, and that would be very difficult to explain.

" For god's sake," Rose said, " you can talk - after you lost - " she stopped, trying to think of a way not to use Jack's name, " after you lost your boyfriend, you've spent ages pining for him and wanting something that you're never going to be able to have. You need to move _on. "_

_" _How can - "

" No," Rose said angrily, not thinking about what she was saying now, " how would you feel if it was _Jack _who was being accused of being a traitor? " she said, pointing her hand in Jack's direction, " you'd jump right in there at his defence, and I was doing the same for my - "

" What have I got to do with it? " Jack asked, " why would she come to my defense? "

Lily looked back at Rose, " Now look what - "

" Stop! " the Doctor said, stepping forwards and looked from one to the other. His single word hand silenced them both and now they glared at him.

" Good," he said as they obeyed him, " I've told you Lily, you're not too old for a spanking, and I'm serious this time. And you, Rose ... well, just stop arguing. "

The women looked at each other for a moment before looking away and saying nothing. The Doctor seemed satisifed with this and said nothing more, leaving behind yet another silence.

Jack was now looking at the Doctor curiously however, looking between he and Lily.

The Doctor noticed the look and rolled his eyes with exasperation, knowing exactly what Jack was thinking - this may be a parallel world, but he had exactly the same attitude, " Oh for goodness' sake Jack - she's my daughter. "

Everyone looked quite suprised by this, and Jack raised his eyebrows, " Are you sure? You don't look old enough. "

The Doctor shrugged, a little pleased with himself, " Well, I'm a little older than I look."

The rest of the ride was in moderate silence until they arrived at the City centre. Mrs Moore parked the van, while the Doctor told everyone else to get out.

" Right," he said, authority filling his voice, " let's all stick together, and don't anyone go wandering off. And above all else, if I give an order, you follow it. "

" Who put him in charge? " Ricky asked.

Mickey shrugged, " I know he's annoying, but he knows his stuff. "

As they all barrelled out of the van, Rose touched Lily's arm lightly, " Hey," she said, " I'm sorry about what I said ... I guess I'm just - "

" Don't mention it," Lily said quietly, " we're both having a tough time of it here, right? All this stuff doesn't half mess with your head. Besides ... you can't be good friends without falling out sometimes. "

Rose smiled and not another word passed between them - they didn't need to, because each understood that the other was going through emotinoal turmoil.

The Doctor shut the van doors behind Lily and Rose, who were the last to leave the van.

" Nice to see you two have made up," the Doctor said, " can't have my two girls fighting. "

Lily smiled back at him and he nodded before they all got moving down the streets.

As they walked, they saw that eall of the people around them were marching down the straight in the same direction.

" What the hell? " Jake said.

" What's going on? " asked Rose.

" It's the ear-pods," replied the Doctor, " Lumic's taking control. "

" Can't we just take them off? " Rose asked, reaching up to someone who passed right by them as if she couldn't see them.

" Don't! " the Doctor warned, pulling her arm away, " Cause a brainstorm. Human race - for such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. "

Lily nodded in agreement, " Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes it's like you lot like it - easy life or something. "

Jack looked at her suspiciously, " You two talk like you're not part of the Human Race. You've got a lot of knowledge for a couple of waiting staff. "

" Oh believe me, we're _so _much more than waiters," grinned Lily, " regardless of how we're dressed. "

" Hey,' Jake called, from where he and Ricky were peering around a wall, " come and see this. "

Everyone else joined them, and came to look at around the corner. They saw a row of Cybermen marching alongside the people wearing earpods. They were all marching, regimented, and all in the same direction.

" Where are they going? " Rose asked.

" Lumic's base of operations, I'd guess," Jack said, " but Lumic's been secretive - we don't know where it is. "

" He's building his prototypes in Battersea," Pete supplied.

" Why's he doing it at all? " asked Rose, looking at her dad.

" He's dying," Pete replied, " this all started out as a way of life, by keeping the brain alive. At any cost. "

" Haven't I seen Cybermen before? " asked Rose, looking at Lily and the Doctor, " wasn't there a head in Van Statten's museum? "

" Oh yeah," nodded the Doctor, " we have Cybermen in our universe. They started out on an ordinary world just like this, and then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version, and they're starting from scratch right here on Earth. "

" What the hell are you on about? " Pete asked in confusion.

" Never mind that now," Ricky said dismissively, " we need to get out of the City. Okay, split up - Mrs Moore, you stay here with the caterers, and these lot. Jake, distract the Cybermen, go right. I'll go left, we'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move. "

With that, he ran off in one direction, Jake in the other. Mickey turned to Rose and kissed her lips briefly before announcing, " I'm going with him," and running off after Ricky.

Mrs Moore looked at everyone who was left, " Come on, let's move. "

As they ran, the Cybermen spotted them and started to march towards them. They turned and ran down a side alley, cybermen still in pursuit of them.

Down they alley were huge bins, and they found themselves having to hide behind them. Lily's heart tightened in her chest and she was sure they were going to get caught.

Instinctively, Lily slipped her hand into Jack's - Jack was standing next to her. She hadn't even thought about it - this was Jack, and Jack had always offered comfort when she needed it. He looked at her bewildered, and she realised what she'd done. She cleared her throat awkwardly and dropped his hand. Ianto gave Jack an annoyed look, but Jack just shrugged.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and it bleeped just as the Cybermen started to march down the alley towards them.

The Cybermen turned away and started marching in the other direction, giving them time to creep out from behind the bins and hurry away.

As they hurried to the place Ricky had told them to meet, the Doctor grasped Lily's arm.

" You need to be more careful," he said quietly, but desperately, " he's married here. "

Lily didn't rely, just nodded. She knew how she should behave, but she was too overwhelmed by being here and him being here too.

Jake ran back to them soon and told them quickly, " I ran past the river. You should've seen it, the whole city's on watch. Hundreds of Cybermen down the Thames. "

Mickey ran towards them, alone, and Jake grinned in relief.

" Here he is! "

Mickey came to a halt, and Jake frowned, " Which one are you? "

Mickey - for Lily was quite sure it was Mickey - shook his head, " I'm sorry. The Cybermen. He couldn't ... "

" Are you Ricky? " Jake demanded, " are you Ricky?! "

" Mickey? " Rose asked cautiously.

" Yeah," he nodded, as Rose rushed forward and hugged him tightly. Jack glared at them in silence, and Mickey tried to confort him, " I'm sorry. He tried. He was running ... "

" Shut it," Jake snapped, turning away, face contorting with pain.

" There was nothing I could do," Mickey told him.

" Shut it! " Jake shouted, " don't even talk about him - you're nothing compared to him. You're nothing! "

Lily realised that Jake and Ricky might have been more than friends, and bit her lip before telling Jake, " It's tough ... I know, but - "

" No," Jake said, " how do you know? You don't have any idea! "

Lily laughed coldly, " I think I know. My boyfriend was killed by monsters too. They killed him and I ... I won't ever get him back. So yeah, I know _exactly _how you feel. But we have to stop everyone else from dying right now. "

This was followed by a silence until Jake nodded miserably, " Right. "

" Good," Lily muttered.

Soon they were off again - they walked up the slope which overlooked the bank, on their way to Lumic's base, which was on the opposite side of the bank.

" The whole of London's been sealed off," the Doctor said, " the entire population taken inside that base ot be 'converted'. "

" And we've got to get in there and shut it down," Lily added.

" How do we do that? " Mickey asked.

The Doctor shrugged, " Oh, I'll think of something. "

Mickey glared at the Doctor and said indignantly, " You're just making this up as you go along! "

" Yep," the Doctor agreed, striding forwards, " but I do it _brilliantly. "_

Rose and Lily shared a smirk, and Mickey sighed - he had to agree.

They stopped on the Thames Embankment, opposite a large power station, where Mrs Moore got out her laptop to show them a 3D model of Lumic's suspected base.

" Look," she said, " that's a schematic of the old factory. Look, cooling tunnels, underneath the plant, big enough to walk through ... "

The Doctor nodded and pointed at it, " We can go under there and up into the control cente? "

" Hmm," Mrs Moore nodded.

Pete added, " There's another way in. Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in ... "

" We can't just go strolling up to the front door," Jake argued.

" We could," Mrs Moore pointed out," with these," she was holding up some ear pods.

The Doctor took one from her and examined it, " Fake earpods. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd. "

" Then that'll be my job," Pete said.

" You'd have to show _no _emotion. None at all. _Any _sign of emotion would give you away. "

" You got any more of these? " Rose asked Mrs Moore.

" I've just two sets," was the reply.

" Right then," Rose nodded, as if that was that, " if that's the best way of finding Jackie ... I'm coming with you. "

" What does she matter to you? " asked Pete, regarding Rose as if she was something from another planet.

" We haven't got time," Rose said, " Doctor, I'm going with him, and that's that. "

" No stopping you, is there? " the Doctor said, staring at her.

" No," Rose said.

The Doctor grinned, chucking the earpods at her, " Tell you what - we can take the earpods at the same time. Give people their minds back. So they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jake? "

Jake looked up.

The Doctor pointed out the zeppelin stationed above, " Lumic's transmitting the control signal, and it must be from over there ... on the side of the zeppelin, see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes to show off - reckon you could take it out? "

" Done," Jake nodded.

Lily looked at her dad, " Let me guess. I'm with you? "

" Of course," the Doctor grinned, offering out his arm. Lily sighed and slid her arm through his and looked at him for a moment, before looking back towards Jack and Ianto.

" What about them? " she asked.

The Doctor sighed, " This is a recipe for disaster - you, me, your parallel boyfriend and his husband. "

" Her _what? " _Ianto asked, shaking his head, " what's going on with you people? You're from a whole other world and you keep acting like Lily and Jack are this big ... thing. "

" I'm sorry," Lily said, suprising herself by being so calm towards the man, " you're a really great guy, and I'll explain everything ... but not now. We don't have time now. "

The Doctor nodded, " Right then. Mrs Moore, Lily, Jack and Ianto, down the cooling tunnels with me. We attack on three sides - above, between, below. We get to the control centre, we get to the conversion machines. "

" And what about me? " Mickey asked.

The Doctor looked at him for a moment, like he'd only just remembered that he was there, " Ah. Well ... "

" Oh no," Mickey said, " I'm not being the tin dog anymore. Those days are over - I'm going with Jake. "

" I don't need you, idiot," Jake said, shaking his head.

Mickey groaned in frustration, " I'm not an idiot! You got that?! I'm offering to help! "

" Whatever," Jake said, walking off. Mickey didn't hesitate to follow him.

" Mickey? " the Doctor called.

Mickey turned back.

" Good luck," the Doctor told him.

" Yeah, you too. Lily, and you" Mickey told him, " Rose, I'll see you later. "

The Doctor called out, " If we survive this, I'll meet you back at the TARDIS. That's a promise. "

They also said their goodbyes to Rose and Pete, and went off for the cooling towers. Lily dropped her hand from her Dad's arm as she looked at him. After they'd been walking in silence for a minute or so, she said, " Dad? You said _if _we survive this. "

" Did I? " he asked, trying to soud lighthearted, though his face was grim.

" Dad! " Lily said, eyes wide, " tell me that we're going to survive this! "

The Doctor paused before looking down at her, " Yeah. We'll survive this -I can do anything, right? " Lily knew he was just saying it to make her feel better about their situation, but she appreciated it - when her Dad told her something was going to be alright, he was usually right. Well, except for the time when ... no. She wouldn't go down that route. She couldn't think about his death now.

They got to a trap door that opened the cooling tower, and Mrs Moore descended the ladder, followed by the Doctor, then Ianto, Lily and Jack. Along the tunnels were hundreds of Cybermen - already converted, but paralysed

As they began to walk, Mrs Moore and the Doctor were walking on ahead talking. Lily walked between Ianto and Jack, wishing she was anywhere else right now - this was too hard to take. Why did he have to be married?

Why did the husband have to be such a nice guy - so right for Jack. It would be much harder if it was someone she could hate. Then she could tell herself that Jack wasn't happy, and tell herself that he'd be happier with her. But she knew that this Jack was happy with his life. Life without her.

" You know," Jack said as they walked, " you're going to explain the thing with that Dad of yours. There's no way he's old enough. You're what, 22, 23? "

Lily smiled. Physically, she was 24.

" And he's about 35? "

Lily shook her head, " You wouldn't believe me if I told you. "

" I might believe more than you'd give me credit for," Jack replied, " I'm an open minded sort of guy. "

Ianto looked at her for a moment before smiling gently, " Please. Just tell us who you are. "

" No," she said," you're ... you ... there's too much to explain. "

" Can I at least ask one question? " asked Jack.

She nodded silently, wishing she could tell him everything. Deciding that she would tell them everything - they wouldn't believe her anyway, so what would it matter?

Jack looked at her, his eyes so intense that she had to look away. He asked her, " Who are you to me? "

Her mouth dropped and she stared at him.

" Lily," he said, looking at her still, " in this other world or this other place you come from, you know me, right? And I don't know you here, but you know me. Who am I to you? "

She sighed - how could she tell a married man that she was and always would be in love with him?

She didn't need to, as Mrs Moore said," Did one of those things just move? "

" Probably just the torchlight," the Doctor said dismissively," come on you lot, get a move on. "

Jack moved forwards, all thought of Lily abandoned for the moment as he pointed his torch at the Cybermen for a better look.

" You're in love with him," Ianto whispered so no-one else could here - a statement , not a question, as he looked at Lily.

" I'm sorry," Lily said, shaking her head, feeling guilty because his man was so nice and he'd built a life with Jack. He was in love too. They'd both fallen under Jack's spell and that created a bond that was odd, but stuck them together.

And then Ianto Jones shocked her by showing another level of compassion by smiling at her and reaching down to squeeze her hand in a comforting gesture.

Their hands were still locked together when one of the Cybermen moved, and the Doctor shouted, " RUN! "

Ianto didn't drop Lily's hand, but as they ran, dragged her along with him. All of the Cybermen sprang to life and started marching forwards just as they reached the end of the tunnel.

They all scrambled up and ladder and just about made it up in time, the Doctor sealing the trapdoor behind them with his screwdriver.

Jack noticed Ianto and Lily's interlocking fingers and raised his eyebrows.

" Did you know _me _in your ... other world thing? " asked Ianto as he dropped her hand.

Lily shook her head, " I've never met you until today. "

Ianto smiled at her and said nothing, only thinking about how by rights, he should hate the woman who was with his husband in another world - whatever that was - but instead, he found himself thinking she was quite nice. Odd, yeah, but she was a nice person.

" We need to get back in there," the Doctor said, " we'll find another entrance. "

Soon they were edging along one of the dark, dank cooling tunnels in silence, with only a couple of torches between them.

Suddenly a Cyberman stepped in front of them, " You are not upgraded. "

" Yeah? " Mrs Moore scoffed, " well upgrade _this. "_

She threw a small metal device at the Cyberman. It stuck to its chest, sparking, until the Cyberman was electrocuted and slumped to the ground.

" What was that? " Lily asked.

" Electromagnetic bomb," Mrs Moore told her, " Takes out computers - I figured it might stop the cyber-suit. "

" You figured right," the Doctor nodded, impressed, " now let's have a look ... "

He moved forwards and Lily moved forwards too. They crouched in front of the dead Cyberman, Ianto, Jack and Mrs Moore nearby them.

He took off the Cybus logo so that they could see inside the cyberman's suit. " Heart of steel, but look," he put his fingers inside and pulled out some bodily tissue.

" Flesh? " Mrs Moore asked.

The Doctor nodded, " Central nervous system. Artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing. Well, it _is _a living thing. " He stopped and touched a chip, " emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling emotions. "

" Why? " Ianto asked with a frown.

" It's still got a human brain," the Doctor explained, " imagine its reaction if it could see itself. Realise itself inside this thing. They'd go insane ... "

" So they cut out the one thing that makes the human," Lily finished, " because they have to. "

" Why am I cold? " asked the Cyberman.

" Oh my god," Mrs Moore breathed, " it's alive - it can feel. "

" We broke the inhibitor. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, " the Doctor said, leanin over the Cyberman with sincere regret.

" Why so cold? " the Cyberman asked.

" What's your name? " the Doctor asked.

" Sally," was the reply," Sally Phelan. "

" You're a woman," Mrs Moore said, shocked.

" Where's Gareth? " the Cyberman asked.

" Who's Gareth? " asked Lily.

" He can't see me," Sally the Cybermen said, " it's unlucky the night before. "

" You're getting married," Lily breathed, sorrow filling her eyes as she thought of another love story that wouldn't have a happy ending.

" I'm cold. I'm so cold. "

" Sorry," the Doctor said," You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep. "

The Doctor had to put Sally to sleep - she was dying - this wasn't life - he had to end the pain. Lily found that a tear rolled down her cheek and she furiously wiped it away.

" You alright? " Jack asked her.

She nodded, " Yeah. Just thinking of something else. "

" The boyfriend? " Jack asked, " the one who died? "

She didn't answer his question, but shook her head, " We need to get moving. "

Jack didn't say anything, and Ianto and Mrs Moore watched the interaction between the two of them closely. The Doctor wished he could do something to take away his little girl's pain - he had thought he was doing the best thing in seperating her from Jack back on the Game Station, and he'd expected her to get over him pretty quickly. But now she was still grieving for him, and he knew that her love for Jack had been the real thing. Sometimes he hated what he'd done.

" This boyfriend," Jack said, " wouldn't have been some other world version of me, would it? I don't know ... the kind of parallel words that you see in films? "

Lily just sighed, " You were always so clever. Should have known you'd have worked it out. "

" And - "

" No," Lily said, " I will explain _everything _but not right now. We've got to get moving. "

The Doctor nodded, " Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing. 'Cos that's the key - the emotional inhibitor - if we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it through the systems into every Cyberman's head ... they'd realise what they are. "

" What then? " asked Mrs Moore.

" I think they'd die," the Doctor said, " could we do that? "

" We've got to," Jack said, " before they kill everyone else. "

The Doctor seemed to find this decision so hard, as his face contorted and he looked at Lily - Lily was always the voice of sensibility. The one who was dead set against death unless it had to happen.

Lily took a step closer to Sally's body, as did Ianto and Jack, turning to face it completely. She looked at it for a moment, before looking at her Dad, who was look at her for an answer.

" You don't need me to tell you what to do," she said," There's no choice. It's got to be done. "

They nodded and turned back to Sally's body when a crack filled the air, followed by a scream.

When they turned to locate the source of the sound, a Cyberman had Mrs Moore at the neck, and flung her body to the ground.

" No! " the Doctor roared furiously, " you didn't have to kill her! "

" Sensors detect a binary vascular system. You are an unknown upgrade. You and your associates will be taken for analysis. "

Other Cybermen joined them, and they weren't killed, but marched down the corridors instead. As they moved, Lily was terrified but determined to remain calm. The Doctor glanced at her and saw the terror etched on her face - he wanted to reach out and protect her, but instead they had to be marched down the corridor to the control room of the power station.

As they stopped in the room, they saw Pete and Rose standing by the computers.

" Great," the Doctor said, " I thought, I've been captured but don't worry, Pete and Rose are still out there, they can rescue me. Oh well, never mind. You okay? "

Rose nodded," But they got to Jackie. "

" We were too late," Pete said, " Lumic killed her. "

" Then where is he? " the Doctor asked looking around, raising his voice, " the famous Mr Lumic? Don't we get a chance to meet our Lord and Master? "

" He has been upgraded, " said one of the Cybermen.

" So he's just like you? " the Doctor asked.

" He is superior," the Cyberman told them, " the Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller. "

Sliding doors opened, and they all turned to look at them. Lumic, now as a Cyberman, rolled through them, sitting in a chair full of elaborate wires and tubes.

" This is the age of steel and I am its creator," he announced.

As Lumic moved towards them, they heard shrieks from outside the room, and realised Mickey and Jake must have done something to make some of the people realise that they were Cybermen.

" That's my friends at work," the Doctor said," good boys. Mr Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will. "

Lumic rolled closer, " I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the earpods have failed, then Cybermen will take humanity by force. London had fallen, so shall the world. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace - unity - and uniformity. "

" And imagination? " the Doctor asked, " what about that? And the one thing that leads you here. Imagination - you're killing it. Dead. "

" What is your name? " demanded Lumic.

" I'm the Doctor. "

" A redundant title," Lumic scoffed, " Doctors do not need to exist. Cybermen never sicken. "

The Doctor stepped forwards with enthusiasm, " Yeah, but that's it! That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man ... I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's so brilliant. And SO human. But once you get rid of the sickness and mortality, what's there to strive for? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop! You'll stay like this forever. An earth with metal men with metal thoughts. Lacking the one thing that makes this planey so _alive. _Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people. "

" You are proud of your emotions? " Lumic asked.

" Oh, yes," the Doctor beamed.

" Then tell me Doctor, have you felt grief, and rage, and pain? "

" I have. "

" And they hurt? " Lumic asked.

" Oh yes," the Doctor nodded.

" I could set you free," Lumic offered, " would you not want that? A life without pain? "

" You might as well kill me," replied the Doctor.

" Then I take that option. You have no way of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own. "

The Doctor sighed, shaking his head, " You just don't get it, do you? An army's _nothing. _Cos those ordinary people - they're key," here he looked up at something, " the most ordinary person in the world. Some ordinary man or woman ... or idiot. "

Lily frowned at the word idiot, wondering what he was looking at.

The Doctor continued, " All it takes is for him to find say, the right numbers ... say, the right codes ... say, for example, the code behind the emotion inhibitor. The code right in front of him. Cos even an idiot knows how to use a computer these days. "

Lily stopped herself from grinning widely - she realised that he was trying to get Mickey's attention. He was looking at a security camera, and she realised that Mickey must be watching from behind the security camera.

" Know how to get past the firewalls," the Doctor said, " know how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database under ... what was it Pete? Binary what? "

" Binary Nine," Pete said loudly, as he too cottoned onto what was going on.

" An idiot could find that code," the Doctor said, " the cancellation code. And he'd keep typing. Keep on fighting. " He stared at the camera, " to save his friends. "

" Your words are irrelevant," Lumic said, not having figured out what the Doctor was doing.

" Talk too much," grinned the Doctor, " Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose. For all those long chats. On your _phone. " _Another meaningful glance to the camera.

Lumic shook his head, " You will be deleted. "

" No! " Lily shouted, moving forwards, stopped by Jack throwing an arm around her waist and pulled her backwards, stopping her from doing anything rash.

" Don't worry about it," the Doctor shrugged, " I've got it under control. "

Lily looked up at Jack, who just winked at her and let of her.

" Yes," the Doctor said, " delete, control, hash, all those lovely buttons. Then of course, my favourite - _send. _And let's not forget how you seduced all of those ordinary people in the first place. "

Rose's phone beeped.

" Technology," the Doctor grinned.

" It's for you," Rose said, pulling her phone out and throwing it to the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned and shoved the phone into a port. It fitted perfectly. Then the Cybermen were clutching their heads and moaning. The cancellation code was flashing on the screens.

All oer, the cybermen were clutching their heads as they fell to the ground, twitching and crying out.

" I'm sorry," the Doctor said.

" What have you done?! " shouted Lumic angrily.

" I gave them back their souls," answered the Doctor, " they can see what you've done, Lumic. And it's killing them. "

" Delete. Delete. Delete," chanted Lumic, as the Doctor shouted at them to run. Pete, Rose, the Doctor, Lily, Jack and Ianto ran for their lives, looking for a way out. They tried one of the doors, but it was blocked by a waiting cyberman.

" There's no way out! " the Doctor yelled.

Rose's phone rung, and she flipped it open quickly, " It's Mickey," she told them, " he says to head for the roof. "

They all did as they were told right away, running up a flight of stairs, trying to avoid explosions and flames. They ran as fast as they could, and once they were on the roof, they saw that Mickey and Jake were inside on of the zeppelins.

" Where did you learn to fly this thing? " demanded Rose, shaking her head.

" Playstation! " Mickey shouted.

The next thing they knew, a rope ladder was lowered, and Rose was the first to grab hold of it. Pete grabbed hold after Rose, followed by Ianto, then Lily, Jack and the Doctor.

As Lily clung to the rope and Jack was the one who got on after her, she looked down at Jack.

" This was how we met, you know," she told him, deciding she might as well just tell him about everything, " it was world war two, and you had a spaceship in the sky. I was hanging from a barrage balloon in the middle of the blitz, and you saved me. "

" World war two? " Jack laughed, " that sounds pretty impossible. "

" Oh no," she called down to him, " we like impossible. "

As the zeppelin started to move away, Rose laughed triumphantly, " We did it! "

Mickey and Jake steered the balloon away safely and soon everyone was safe again. They were all standing on the Embankement, outside the TARDIS.

" Well," the Doctor said, looking at Mickey, Lily and Rose, " It's time to go home. TARDIS should be alive now. We can go. "

Lily bit her lip and looked at Jack and Ianto, and then at her Dad.

" Dad," she started.

The Doctor just nodded, " I know. You do what you have to do. "

Lily nodded in return and turned to Jack and Ianto, " Well," she said, " I suppose we have a few things to talk about. C'mon then. "

The three of them went and sat down on the wall by the Thames. Lily noticed Rose talking to Pete, and Mickey talking to Jake.

Lily was wringing her hands in her lap as she looked at the ground. She didn't know where to start or even where to look - it was just too much. She suddenly felt all the hurt again, and all of the pain she'd felt from losing her Jack, and all of the pain from not being able to have him, an everything that had happened since and up to now.

" Lily? " prompted Ianto.

She looked up and nodded. " Um ... right - sorry, this is so weird. I don't even know where to start. "

" Just say what you want," Ianto said.

Lily nodded, " Ok, we're from a parallel universe. Dad, me, Mickey and Rose. Dad and I are from a whole other planet - that's how he looks so young - it's this trick our people have, of changing bodies when we're ill. Like reincarnation or something. "

" You're not human? " Ianto asked.

" No, but we're as near human as they come," Lily replied, " that blue box is our ship - it'll take you anywhere in the world. Anywhere in time too. "

" Time travellers? " Jack asked, looking impressed, " I knew you weren't just caterers. "

" Look," Lily said, " I know it's a _lot _to take in, and it all sounds so stupid, but this is what we are: we're time travellers from a parallel world, and in our world, are parallel versions of some of you. In our world, Pete Tyler is Rose's dad. "

" And I was your boyfriend, but now I'm dead? " Jack asked.

" Yeah," Lily nodded.

" How did we meet? " Jack asked.

Lily sighed, " This is all so hard to tell you," she said, chewing her lip nervously, " I already told you we met in world war two. You were a freelance time travelling agent and we met you, and you decided to travel with us. We - you and me - got on so well. You were everything I ever wanted. You were ... I don't konw. You were just perfect for me, and we were a perfect match. Best thing that ever happened to me. "

Jack reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, " I can't describe to you how I felt. "

" You were in love," Ianto said.

Lily nodded, opening her eyes, " We were. You - well, _my _Jack - was the love of my life. Then it all went wrong - we were in a sticky situation, and these evil old things - _bloody Daleks - _killed you - him. I was a mess, and I've ... I haven't been the same since. "

" I'm sorry," Jack said.

She shook her head," It's hardly your fault. Then we ended up on your world and I thought I might be able to find you still alive here - I was thrilled when I found your name. Then I found out you were married. God, that was awful. "

There was an awkward silence until Lily looked at Ianto and found herself smiling, " When I found out he was married, I wanted to kill him. And kill the husband. Even though it wasn't your fault - even though this Jack didn't even know anything about me and my Jack. Then I met you, Ianto. And you're so nice, friendly, polite, charming ... cute ... "

Jack laughed and Ianto blushed.

Lily continued, " Ianto Jones. If I could have chosen anyone to be with Jack, it would have been someone like you. If I can't have _my_ Jack, I'm happy knowing that some _other _Jack is being looked after by someone who is so ... right for him. "

Ianto smiled weakly, " C'mere," he said, reaching out with one arm and pulling her to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she sighed as she leant against him.

" I'm sorry for all you've been through," Ianto said, " and I wish there was some way you could have the Jack of your world back. Maybe you'll find someone one day - maybe you can take that time machine ... maybe he's not really dead. "

Lily shook her head, and Ianto let go of her, looking at her, " D'you know what my mum used to say? " he asked, " everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. "

" Thank you. "

" Lily! "

Lily looked up at the sound of her name, and saw that her dad was standing at the door of the TARDIS.

" We have to go," he called," we have five munutes before the power cell runs out, and we need to go. "

She nodded.

Jack stood up, hands on hips and looked down at Lily. He was so good looking, so handsome and charming. They'd had so much fun, and she still loved him so much. She knew she'd never be able to let go, and she knew she'd always love him.

" Parting gift," Jack said, reaching for her hand.

He pulled her to her feet easily and pulled her to him. He had her pressed right up against him and she gasped at the feel of her body to close to his again - it had been so long, and she knew her knees would have given way if his strong arm wasn't fixed firmly around her waist.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked into her eyes in a way that told her something magical was about to happen.

She could hardly believe it as he leaned in slowly and his lips met hers. She closed her eyes and his lips were on hers, one of his hands around her waist, the other on her cheek. It was a slow lingering kiss at first, but then his tounge was probing her lips and she opened her mouth to let him explore her mouth with her tounge. His lips touched hers in a way that made her tingle all over, and his hand against her cheek gave her shivers.

It was one of the most perfect kisses they'd ever shared, and when he broke away, he rested his forehead against hers, cupping her face with his hands.

" Jack," she said, a slow smile crossing her lips.

" Goodbye, baby," Jack said, kissing her forehead before letting go of her.

Lily told herself to remain calm as she took a backwards step away from Jack.

She nodded at Jack, " See you," she said, before looking Ianto, " I'm sorry, I - "

" Don't mention it," said Ianto, shaking his head - it wasn't a big deal to him. He knew this girl would never meet them again. She was going back to her own world.

Lily allowed her eyes to wander over them for another moment before turning away in silence. She walked back to the TARDIS without turning back once.

Once she entered her blue box of a home, Rose and the Doctor were there.

" Let's go then," the Doctor said.

" No Mickey? " Lily asked.

Rose shook her head, " He's staying here. His gran's still here, and there's Jake ... and he said I'd be alright, 'cos I have the Doctor. "

Lily understood. Mickey knew that Rose and the Doctor were in love, and he couldn't do anything about it. He knew there was nothing for him.

" And you and Jack? " Rose added.

She just shook her head sadly and took a deep breath, forcing the tears not to fall. The next thing she knew, she was being enveloped by warm arms - different to Jack's, but still so comforting when she needed them. He was there to look after her as always and he held her tightly

" It'll be okay," the Doctor told her fiercely, hugging her tightly.

Lily sniffed, " I know. It'll be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. "


	11. Idiot's Lantern

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: This is just a chapter to fill because I couldn't go from Cybermen in Age of Steel straight to Cybermen in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, and Idiots Lantern is an episode I quite like, although it was limited in what I can do with Lily.**

Chapter Eleven

Lily grinned as she entered the control room, in her 1950s outfit. It had been a while since she'd torn herself away from the dark trousers, dark shirts and long black trench coat she'd taken to wearing, but Rose insisted that they had to get dressed up for the Elvis Concert the Doctor was taking them to.

So Lily was standing there in her baby blue dress, with its big skirt with netting underneath and matching blue heels, and a cropped white cardigan.

" Looking good Lils," the Doctor grinned, his hair gelled back in teddy-boy style.

Lily shrugged, " Well, I do try. We all ready to go? "

The Doctor nodded, and Rose - wearing a denim jacket and a big pink skirt - laughed with glee, skipping across the room and throwing open the door. She grinned as she stepped out, hands on hips.

" I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era," Rose called from outside, " you know - white flares ... chest hair ... "

Lily smiled and looked at the Doctor with a grin. " Chest hair, eh? " she whispered.

" Shut up, you," the Doctor said, though he was grinning. Lily shrugged and left the TARDIS, and the Doctor poked his head around the door as he adressed Rose, " You wanna see Elvis, you go in the latr 50s! The time before burgers," he disappeared into the TARDIS but was still calling, " when they called him the Pelvis, and he still had a waist. "

Rose laughed.

From inside, the Doctor called, " And you see him in style! "

The next thing they knew, the Doctor rode out of the TARDIS on a blue 50s moped, a white helmet and a pair of sunglasses on his head.

Lily beamed, " Haven't seen this thing in ages! "

" You going my way, doll? " he asked, with an Elvis impression, as Rose laughed in delight.

Lily watched in amusement as Rose put on her own sunglasses and replied, " Is there any other way to go Daddy-O? Straight from the fridge, man! "

" You speak the lingo! " the Doctor laughed, delighted.

Lily noted the look on her Dad's face, and knew right there and then that Rose and the Doctor were more in love now than they'd ever been, even if they still didn't admit it. She found herself wishing they would - because they obviously belonged together. They were perfect for each other, and Lily knew they'd end up together in the end. But watching them get close made her only feel like she was back where she'd been in the first place - Rose and the Doctor were happy and were flirty, with undeniable tension, and Lily was still alone.

Her thoughts were broken by the Doctor calling, " Hey, Lily! You getting on? "

She shook her head a little to get rid of the thoughts, and nodded, " Sure," she said, getting behind Rose on the large seat of the moped before the Doctor began to drive away.

As they rode, Lily called, " Where we going to, Dad? "

" Ed Sullivan tv studios," he called as he drove.

" And you're sure that's in New York, yeah? " Lily called.

As they drove, a red London bus drove past the end of the street and the Doctor stopped in confusion. There was a red postbox at the other side of the street, and Union flag bunting hung from rooftop to rooftop.

" Oh yeah," Rose grinned," digging that New York vibe. "

The Doctor frowned, " Well ... this _could _still be New York, I mean this looks very New York to me ... sort of ... Londony New York, mind ... "

" What's with the flags? " Rose asked.

Lily sighed, " I can't believe you got it wrong, Dad," she said, " we're hardly gonna find Elvis here, are we? "

" Hey! " the Doctor said, " I'll have you know I set the co-ordinates exactly! "

Lily rolled her eyes as she got off the bike and looked around, hands on hips. She grinned, turning back to Rose and the Doctor. " Well, c'mon then - let's investigate! "

The Doctor grinned at her enthusiasm, " You know," he said, pride evident in his voice, " you're more and more like me every time I look. "

She raised her eyebrows at him, " What, you mean causing chaos, making things up as we go along and , and running away? "

" Of course," nodded the Doctor as he and Rose got off the bike too.

They looked around for a moment, before deciding to walk off down the street and see where they were. As they walked, there was a man standing by his van, while two errand boys carried a teleivsion into a house.

" There you are," the van owner - Mr Magpie, according to the van - said, calling to the home owner," it'll be all wired up for the big occasion. "

" The big occasion? " the Doctor asked, coming to a stop, " what d'you mean? "

" Where've you been living? In the colonies? " Magpie demanded with disbelief, " the Coronation of course! "

" What Coronation's that, then? " asked the Doctor.

" What d'you mean? " Magie asked, bemused," _the _cornation. "

The Doctor looked blank, and Lily grinned, as it dawned on her, " Is this 1953? Queen Elizabeth's coronation. We're in 1953, aren't we? " she asked, excited.

" Last time I looked," Magpie agreed, " Time for a bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best. "

Rose looked around at all of the chimneys, and told her travelling companions, " Look at all of the tv aerials, looks like everyone's got one. That's wierd - my nan said tellies were so rare that they all had to pile into one house. "

" Not around here. Magpie's Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a box. "

The Doctor walked a short way around the street looking around, and stopped, turning back with a huge grin across his face, his eyes lit up, " But this is a _brilliant _year! Classic! Technicolour, Everest climbed, everything off the ration - the nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a brighter, happier future! "

" I know! " Lily laughed, " brilliant! "

They were interrupted by a woman's scream, and when they turned to see where it had come from, they saw a man with a blanket over his head being bundled into a black car by two men in suits.

Rose, Lily and the Doctor ran over.

A woman was shouting, " Leave him alone - it's my husband! "

" What's going on? " asked the Doctor as they appeared on the screen.

" Hey! " a teenage boy from the next house shouted, as the man was put in the back of the car, " what are you doing? "

One of the suited men addressed the Doctor briskly, " Police business, now get out of the way, Sir! "

" Who did they take? " Rose asked the boy.

" Must be Mr Gallagher," the boy said, as they car drove away, leaving Mrs Gallagher behind in despair. A woman came out of the next house - the same house as the teenage boy had come out of.

" It's happening all over the place," the boy said to them, " they're turning into monsters. "

" Tommy! " a man shouted, leaving the same house - must have been Tommy's dad, " not one word! Inside, now! "

" Sorry," Tommy said to the pair of them, " I'd better do as he says. "

As Tommy disappeared into the house behind his parents, the Doctor strode back to the moped and started the engine. " All aboard, ladies! " he said.

The Doctor drove them down the street, following the car. They followed the black car down the street, closing behind it, but immediately, a market barrow was wheeled in front of them and two men swept the street as if they'd always been there.

" Lost them," sighed the Doctor," how did they get away so quick? "

Rose slapped his shoulder playfully, " I'm suprised they didn't turn right around and arrest you for reckless driving. Have you actually _passed _your test? "

The Doctor didn't reply, " Men in black? Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia! "

" Something's not right," Lily said, " that boy said something about monsters. We should track these people down and sort them out. "

" Or," Rose said, " we could go and ask the neighbours if they've seen anything odd. "

The Doctor grinned, thinking about the differences in the two approaches. He looked at Rose with a smile, " That's what I like about you - the domestic approach. "

Then they were off again. They stopped by the house where the man had been taken away from. Getting off the bike, Lily looked down the street and back at the Doctor.

" Is it me, or was the man from the house next door acting very odd? " she said, " the way he told his son to get back inside like that ... "

The Doctor nodded, " Then let's pay them a visit. "

They were soon stood on the doorstep, and the door was angrily yanked open by the man of the house.

" Hiiiii," the three of them chorused with cheesy grins.

The man regarded them suspiciously," Who are you, then? "

The Doctor looked him up and down and pulled out a piece of psychic paper, " Let's see then, judging by the looks of you - family man, nice house - decent wage, fought in the war - therefore I represent Queen and Country! " he announced.

" What are you doing here? "

" Just doing a little check of Her Majesty's forthcoming subjects for the great day. Don't mind if I come in? Nah, didn't think so - thank you! "

He barged past the man before there could be any protests, and Lily shrugged, following suit, Rose following too. They all went into the living room, where a woman was sitting down doing her sewing.

" Not bad," the Doctor said, " very nice - very well kept. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs ...? "

" Connolly," the woman said.

" Now then Rita! " the husband called, " I can handle this. This gentlemen's a proper representative. Don't mind the wife, Sir. She rattles on a bit. "

" Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more," the Doctor said, earning suprised looks from Tommy and Mr Connolly, " I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty. "

Lily nodded, hands on hips, pretending she was annoyed, " Those flags - why are they not flying? " she said, looking at the union flags waiting to be put up.

Mr Conolly paused and looked at his wife, " There you are, Rita. I told you, get them up, Queen and country! "

" I'm sorry," Rita said, standing up.

" Do it! Get it done now! " Mr Connolly said, rushing her along.

" Hold on a minute," the Doctor said, shaking his head, " you've got hands, Mr Connolly. Two big hands! Why is that your wife's job? "

" It's hosuework, isn't it? " Mr Connolly said with a shrug.

" And that's a woman's job, is it? " asked the Doctor.

" Course it is! "

" Mr Connolly, what gender is the Queen? " asked the Doctor, raising his eyebrows.

Lily supressed a smirk as Mr Connolly grew increasingly more defensive, " Female! " he replied.

" And are you suggesting that the Queen does her own housework? " tested the Doctor.

A small smile grew on Tommy's face, whick made Lily also smile slightly, as they watched the Docor win the confrontation. Even Rita seemed a little amused by her husband's humiliation.

" No," sighed Mr Connolly after a pause.

" Then get busy," the Doctor said.

Mr Connolly set about hanging the flags, feigning enthusiasm. Neither the Doctor, Lily, Rose nor Tommy were fooled.

" You'll be proud of us, sir! We'll have the Union Jack hanging left, right and centre! "

Rose suddenly put her hands on her hips, glaring at Mr Connolly, " Hang on one minute! Union Jack? That's the Union Flag. It's only the Union Jack when flown at sea! "

" Oh! " Mr Connolly said, embarrassed, " I do apologise. "

Rose smiled widely, " Well, don't get it wrong again. Now get to it! "

Mr Connolly got back to work, and Rose gave the Doctor a coy smile. He simply looked bewildered and Lily rolled her eyesd at the pair of them. The Doctor and Rose then sat down on the sofa in unison, and Lily perched herself on the arm of the sofa, next to the Doctor.

" Now then," the Doctor said, " let's get comfy. I'm the Doctor, this is Lily, and this is Rose. "

" Tommy," Tommy said, looking suprised to have been noticed, when the Doctor looked at him.

The Doctor nodded, " Very good," he said, before looking at the television, " have a look at this! I love telly, don't you? "

" You watch too much telly," Lily muttered.

" It's brilliant! " Tommy said.

" Good man," grinned the Doctor, looking at Lily in an "i told you so" way. They all resolved to watch the programme, apparently about fossils, for a few moments, until the Doctor turned around to look at Mr Connolly, " keep working, Mr C! "

Looking back at Rita, he lowered his voice so only those gathered around the telly could here.

" Now then," he said, " why don't you tell me what's wrong? "

" Did you say you were a doctor? " Rita asked timidly.

" He's the very best," Lily nodded - she was just as protective and proud of her Dad as he was of her sometimes.

" Can you help her? " Rita asked," please, oh please, can you help her, Doctor? "

" Now! " Mr Connolly shouted, overhearing the last part, " I don't think the gentlemen needs to know ... "

" The gentleman does! " the Doctor protested loudly.

Rita began to cry and Lily leaned forwards, saying gently, " Just tell us what's wrong," she said, though it only made the woman cry more. Lily got up and went to wrap a comforting arm around her, trying to make her stop crying.

" Hold on a minute! " Mr Connolly protested, " Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house! " He threw the flags down and glared at the Doctor, " What the -- what the hell are you doing? Now you listen here, Doctor! You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on in my house is my business. "

" But all of those people being bundled into - "

" I am talking! " Mr Connolly shouted.

Lily watched as her Dad stood up, raising his voice even louder than Mr Connolly'y furiously, literally looming over the man, " And I am not listening! You, sir, are staring into a deep dark _pit _of trouble if you don't let me help! So I'm ordering you, sir, to tell me what's going on! "

Mr Connolly seemed to be thinking of something to say, while everyone else watched in anticipation. The moment was broken by a banging from upstairs.

" She won't stop," Mr Connolly said nervously, after a moment.

The banging was louder.

" She never stops," he continued.

Tommy cleared his throat, mustering up some confidence. Lily, Rose and the Doctor all turned ot him and he told them, " We started hearing stories, all round the place. People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. The police started finding out. We don't know how, no-one does. They just turn up, come to the door and take 'em. Any time of day or night. "

" Show me. "

Tommy led everyone else upstairs, and they walked in silence. They walked up to one of the bedrooms, and Tommy pushed open the door calling, " It's alright Gran, i've brought help. "

Lily peered around the door and saw that Tommy's Gran was standing by the window, only her silhouette visible in the dark. Tommy stepped further into the room and turned on the light, revealing something that made Lily gasp.

Tommy's Gran had no face. Her head was there, but all of the features were gone - her face was completely smooth ... just gone The Doctor stepped inside the room and approached the woman, inspecting her.

Lily followed, though the stood at the other side of the room, watching in fastinaction ad the Doctor looked over the woman with no face.

" Her brain," the Doctor said over his shoulder to Lily, " has been completely wiped clean too. "

" What're we going to do? " asked Tommy, " we can't even feed her! "

They were interrupted by a crash from down stairs, and Rita looked around in fear, " It's them - they've come for her! "

The Doctor sprang into action, " How did this happen? What was she doing before this happened? Where was she? "

The policemen were clambering up the stairs, and Tommy shook his head," I don't know! She doesn't leave the house! "

There was no time to say anything else, as a big, burly man entered the room followed by three or four supporting officers. The Doctor shook his head, trying to buy some time.

" Listen to me! " he said loudly, " there are three important and brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One, - "

To the horror of Rose and Lily, the burly man swung back his fist and punched the Doctor in the face, hard. Lily screamed as he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

" Doctor! " Rose shouted as she knelt by him.

The other men took the opportunity to throw a blanket over Gran and try to get her out of the room. Rose slapped the Doctor's cheeks in an attempt to make him wake up.

Lily furiously looked at the burly man, " How dare you? " she demanded, standing in front of him, " he's trying to help people! "

The burly man wasn't fazed and pushed her out of the way roughly. She groaned as she tripped over her own feet and went stumbling to the ground. She sat up with a moan and looked at her Dad.

" Dad! " she shouted, as Rose slapped his cheek again, " wake _up, _already! "

Suddenly, the Doctor sat up as if nothing had happened. " Ah, hell of a right hook," he said, " have to watch out for that! "

He quickly stood up and ran out of the room, down the stairs, leaving Lily and Rose behind. They looked at each other, shrugged a bit, and followed him as fast as their 50s-style heels would let them.

Lily was outside first, though Rose was having trouble running in the dainty shoes. Outside, they were too late. The car drove away, and the Doctor ran for the moped, followed by Lily.

Mr Connolly was tyring to force Rita and Tommy back into the house, while the Doctor shouted at Rose to hurry up. He didn't know that Rose had stopped to look at the buzzing tendrils which were emerging from the television.

" Rose! " the Doctor shouted, " we're gonna lose them again! "

Lily fastened her helmet under her chin and got on the bike behind the Doctor. They waited another few moments and the Doctor decided he had to go without her. He shouted at Lily to hold on tight, and she wrapped her arms around his middle, clinging on as he rode faster than he'd ever rode before.

They chased the black police car around the corner of the warehouse they'd gone around before. The car seemed to disappear just like it had before, but now the doors of the big warehouse were open, and the Doctor realised what must have happened.

He parked the moped up and Lily looked at him, " What's going on? " she asked.

" In the warehouse," he told her, " let's look in there. "

Lily had no arguments and they were walking through the warehouse slowly.

They watched as two policemen locked up cage-like gates. When they policemen had gone, the two time travellers walked over there in silence to see what was going on. Behind the gates were several dozen people.

The Doctor opened the gates with his screwdriver, though Lily had been in the porcess of reaching for her spanner.

" None of these have faces either," Lily whispered, as they looked at the people.

" I've never seen anything like this before," the Doctor said.

Lily was about to reply when a bright light flashed on. They both whirled around to see that the policemen who'd locked the gates were still there, now standing in front of their car withit's blinding headlights on.

" Stay where you are! " one of them shouted.

" Great," Lily muttered.

The Docotr glanced at her sideways," Don't do anything stupid," he mumbled," leave it to me. "

" Stupid? " Lily asked indignantly," it was only a while ago you were saying I'm more like you, and now you're saying I do stupid things. "

" Well ... " the Doctor said, with a shrug, " not stupid, just ... rash. Like father, like daughter. "

They fell silent as the police officers approached them and they were quickly put under arrest. They were shoved roughly in the back of a black police car and were silent as they were driven to the station.

When they were there, the one who was in charge looked at his collegue.

" Right," he said," you talk to the girl, and I'll talk to this bloke. "

" I don't think so," the Doctor said.

" You're not in a position to argue," the policeman pointed out.

The Doctor just shook his head, " The girl stays with me," he said with a tone of authority.

" It's fine," Lily said," they'll only ask a few questions. "

" No," the Doctor said, looking at the police officer in charge," if you want to talk me, fine. You want to talk to her, fine. But I need to know that she's safe so she stays with me. "

The police officer relented and led the Doctor and Lily into his office.

" You dont have to be so protective all the time," Lily muttered as they walked," I can take care of myelf, you know. "

" The hell you can," the Doctor replied," someone needs to make sure you're not causing chaos, and until you find someone else to do that, it's my job. "

" Well," the police officer said, standing at one side of his desk, while Lily and the Doctor stood on the other," you are connected to what's going on here, so start at the beginning and tell me everything you know. "

" For starters ... I know that you can't wrap your hands around your elbow and make your fingers meet. "

The officer pointed a stern finger at the Doctor," Don't get clever with me! You were both there on Florizel Street today and now breaking into an establishment. Now, you're connected with this, make no mistake. "

" Well," the Doctor said, " the thing _is _Detective Inspector Bishop - "

" How d'you know my name? " he demanded sharply.

" It's ... written inside your collar," the Doctor said apologetically, as D.I. Bishop adjusted his collar, " bless you mum. But I can't help but think, Detective Inspector, you're not exactly doing much detective inspecting, are you? "

" I'm doing everything in my power," the D.I. replied, irrated.

The Doctor shook his head, " All you're doing is grabbing those faceless people and hiding them as fast as you can. Don't tell me - orders from above, hmm? Coronation day ... the eyes of the world are on London ... so any sort of problem is just going to get swept under the carpet. "

" The nation has an image to maintain," the D.I. said.

Lily cut in," Doesn't it drive you mad, though? Surely you wanna get out there and investigate? "

" Course I do," Bishop said, " But ... with all the crowds, we haven't got the man power. Even if we did ... this is beyond anything we've ever seen. I just don't know any more. 20 years on the force ... I don't even know where to start. We haven't the faintest clue what's going on. "

The Doctor and Lily were now listening intently, and the Doctor shook his head, " That could change. "

" How? "

Lily grinned and looked at the Doctor, who smiled slightly when he saw the impish look on her face. Lily looked at Bishop and said, " Start from the beginning. Tell us everything you know. "

Bishop nodded, " We started finding them about a month ago. Persons left sans visage. Heads just ... blank. "

" No pattern? " the Doctor asked.

Bishop looked at a file on his desk and answered after a minute, " Yes. Spreading out from the north all over London. All over the City. Men, women, kids, grannies ... the only _real _lead is there's been quite a large number in - "

" Florizel street? " Lily guessed.

There was a knock at the door and all three turned to look at the door. A policeman stood in the doorway with a blanket covered figure beside him. Lily's eyes were drawn to the large pink skirt and the dainty pink shoes of the figure. Her eyes widened in mixture of suprise and horror.

She watched as the Doctor moved forwards slowly, not wanting to believe what was there. Who was there. She saw the way his face contorted with pain as he pulled the blanket away and stared down at her.

" They found her in the street, apparently, abandoned," the policeman told Bishop.

Lily saw the heartbroken look on her Dad's face and this only strengthened the love she knew he had for Rose. He looked completely heartbroken and Lily hoped she'd be alright - he'd be completely broken if anything happened to her.

" That's the first one in the street," Bishop said, as Lily listened in," Heaven help us if something happens in public tomorrow for the big day. We'll have Torchwood on our backs, make no mistake. "

" What's Torchwood? " Lily asked curiously.

She didn't get an answer however, because the Doctor whipped around and interrupted, " They left her where? "

" In the street," Bishop said.

" In the street," the Doctor said quietly, though Lily could tell that he was forcing himself to remain calm, " they left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street. And as a result, that makes things simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why? "

" No," Bishop said.

The Doctor was furious again, as he shouted," Because _now, _Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on Earth that can stop me. Come on! "

Without a moment's hesitation he'd headed for the door and Lily followed, thinking about her Dad's determinatoin - she knew he'd do anything he could to get her back. She found herself wishing he'd had the determination when they lost Jack, but didn't have time to think about it - she ran off after him.

Bishop followed, and once she was outside, Lily saw the Doctor sitting astride the moped. She was suprised that he hadn't already gone off without her, but hurried along and got on behind him.

The moment her feet were off the ground, the Doctor set off. Lily had a suspicion of where he was going, but when she asked, she didn't get a reply.

He stopped by the Connolly's house and ran towards their house. Lily followed and Bishop was there too, having followed them.

Tommy answered the door, and the Doctor sighed, " Tommy, talk to me. I need ot know exavtly what happened in your house. "

Mr Connolly appeared there angrily and rounded on his son, " What the blazes do you think you're doing? "

" I wanna help, Dad," Tommy said.

Mr Connolly shook his head, " Listen you, you little twerp. You're hardly out of the bloomin' cradle, so I don't expect you to understand, but I've got a position to maintain. People around here respect me. It matters what people think. "

" Is that why you did it, Dad? " Tommy asked.

Mr Connolly looked taken aback," Did what? "

Lily, Bishop and the Doctor watched as Tommy glared at his father, " You did it. You ratted on gran, 'cause how else would the police know where to look. Unless some coward told them .... "

They watched as Mr Connolly continued to rage abuse at his son until Rita came outside, horrified by what her husband had to do her mother. Mr Connolly claimed that the old woman had become something disgusting, and was adamant that he'd done the right thing. In the end, Rita told Tommy to go with the Doctor and do some good.

Tommy nodded and looked at the three of them. They were walked down a busy street when Lily looked at the teenager," We need ot know about the night your Gran changed. "

Tommy shrugged, " She was just watching telly. Nothing else happened. "

Lily looked at the Doctor, who'd already worked it out, looking around at all of the t.v aerials, " Rose said it. She guessed it right away, of _course _she did. All these aerials in one little street - how come? "

" That's easy," Tommy said, " bloke up the road. Mr Magpie, he's selling them cheap. "

The Doctor was off again, running in that directions, heading for the shop and yelling at the others to follow them. Lily sighed and took off her dainty little heels, deciding she couldn't run in them any more. She resolved to run down the street, carrying her shoes, ignoring the stones under her feet.

Once they were at the shop, the Doctor found it locked, though this wasn't going to stop him - he could stop at nothing to find Rose.

He simply smashed the glass in the door to get his hand through and open it. He strode into the shop, followed by Lily, Tommy and Bishop. He hit the bell on the desk angrily.

" If you're here, come out and talk, Mr Magpie! "

" Maybe's he's out," Lily suggesting, laying a hand on his arm.

" Looks like it," the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes. Rather than leaving, he started rifling through the draws like a man possessed, until he pulled out small device that looked like a cross between a small tv and a portable radio.

" Ah," he said," hello - this isn't right. This is very much not right," he licked it, to Tommy and Bishops's suprise," tastes like iron. Bakelite. Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself. Oh beautiful work, that is so simple. "

" That's incredible," said Bishop, astounded, " it's like a television! A portable television. "

The Doctor looked around, raising his sonic screwdriver. The televisions in the room all turned onto static as he did so, and he nodded, " It's not the only power source in the room. "

The screwdriver whirred away, and the static on the television slowly faded away until on each screen was a different face. They all looked terrified, silently pleading for help.

Lily looked around the room, and her eyes rested on one screen in particular. She looked at Rose sadly, and pointed him out to the Doctor, who had been looked around for her.

Rose was mouthing, " Doctor" over and over again, and the Doctor knelt down in front of it, looking both sad and intense, as he told her, " I'm on my way. "

" What do you think you're doing? " demanded a man - Magpie - as he entered from the back of the shop.

The Doctor rounded on him angrily, " I want my friend restored and I think that's beyond some little backstreet electrician, so tell me, who's really in charge here? "

" Yohoo! " a female voice called, " I think that must be me! "

She was on one of the televisions - or at least, their enemy was, using the image of the woman.

" Is she talking to us? " Bishop asked.

" Sorry gentlemen ... Miss," said Magpie, " but you've brought this on yourself. May I introduce you to my new friend ... "

" Jolly nice to meet you," the woman on the televisoin said.

" It's her," Bishop said," that woman off the telly. "

" No," Lily said carefully," it's just using her image. What are you? " she added, looking at the television.

" I am the Wire," the woman replied, " and I will gobble you all up. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corpeal body which my fellow kind has denied me. "

" So your own people tried to stop you? " asked the Doctor, shaking his head.

" They executed me," said the Wire, " but I escaped in this form, and fled across the stars. "

" And now you're trapped in a television," the Doctor said.

" Not for much longer," said the Wire with a smirk.

" This is what stole my Gran? " Tommy asked.

The Doctor nodded, " Yeah. It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain, but it gorges itself like an overfed pig. Taking people's faces, their essences, it stuffs itself. "

" And you let it," Lily said, glaring at Magpie accusingly.

" I had no choice! " Magpie wailed, " she allowed me my face in return! She's promised to release me at the time of manisfestation. "

" What does that mean? " asked Tommy.

" The appointed time," the Wire said, teasingly, " my crowning glory. "

" The coronation! " Bishop cried.

The Doctor approached the Wire, " For the first time in history, millions of people gathered around a television set. But you're not strong enough, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this," he added, pulling out the portable tv set," you need something more powerful. This will turn a big transmitter into a big reciever. "

" What a clever thing you are," laughed the Wire," but why fret about it? Why not relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me - you'll be glued to the screen. "

Before anyone could do anything, lines of sparking red light suddenly started pulled all four faces - Lily, the Doctor, Tommy and Bishop - into the television.

" Hungry! " the Wire chanted," the Wire in hungry! Ah, these are delicious. I'll have lashings of these! Tasty! "

They were saved by the Doctor reaching for his sonic screwdriver. The Wire saw his weapon and withdrew quickly, though this left all four of them to fall to the ground, unconscious.

The next thing Lily knew, there were hands gripping her shoulders and a familiar voice was shouting at her to wake up. She opened her eyes, and the Doctor was kneeling over her, relief plastered over his face when he saw her.

" What happened?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor stood up, gripping her forearms and pulling her up with him. " Magpie's gone," he told her," and Bishops's no good to us any more. It's just you, me and Tommy. "

" We don't even know where to start looking," Tommy said," it's too late. "

The Doctor shook his head," It's never too late, a wise person once said - Kylie, I think. But the Wire's got big plans ... so it'll need ... yes, yes, yes, it's got to harness half the population ... millions and millions of people .. and where are we? "

" Muswell Hill," replied Tommy.

" Muswell Hill? " the Doctor asked.

Lily clapped her hands together as she realised what was significant about it, " Muswell Hill! Alexandra Palace - biggest TV transmitter in North London. That's why they chose this place. "

" What are we going to do? " Tommy asked.

" We're going shopping," the Doctor replied simply.

Soon, they were running around the shop, gathering equipment. Once they had everything, they ran out into the street, arms loaded. As they hurried down the street, the Doctor plugged a device into the huge equipment bank Tommy and Lily were carrying between them.

" There! " Tommy shouted all of a sudden, as he spotted Magpie climbing a pylon outside Alexandra Palace.

" Woah! " an official looking man called as they approached, " where do you think you're going? "

Quick as a flash, the Doctor flashed his paper, and the official looked suprised and sorry at once, " Oh! I'm sorry, sir. Shouldn't you be at the coronation? "

" They're saving me a seat," replied the Doctor simply, as the three of them walked away.

" Who did he think you were? " asked Tommy as they walked off.

The Doctor looked at the paper and grinned, " King of Belgium, apparently. "

Lily rolled her eyes at the pair of them, " That's nice, but we need to get a move on. Control room? "

Once inside the control room, Lily and Tommy were stood in front of a television set, while the Doctor dashed around, gathering equipment.

" Keep that screen switched on," the Doctor told them," Everything depend upon it, right? "

The Doctor left the room, running as fast as he could, leaving a trail of magnetic film behind him.

" Everything's gonna be alright, isn't it? " Tommy asked Lily.

Lily nodded with a smile, " 'Course it is. He can do anything, you know. He's done allsorts, so he's gonna sort this out easily. Everything will go back to normal. "

" And all we have to do is keep this television screen turned on? "

Lily nodded again, " Yeah. Quite a nice little job really. You'll soon have your Gran back and you can go home and watch your telly. "

Tommy scoffed, " Yeah. Even if it turns out that my Dad is an evil get who shopped by Gran to the police. "

Lily shook her head, " You and your dad will work things out. You know what it's like with Dads. They bug you and they do stupid things, but you've still gotta love them. "

Tommy shrugged, " He's an idiot. "

" You think everyone else has normal parents? " she asked, a smile crossing her face, " look at _my _Dad. We came around here all dressed up and ready to go out for a concert, then we lose our friend, and get dragged into this mess. Now he's running around trying to defeat a monster inside a television. _And _that's not even unusual for us. "

Tommy nodded but then looked at her with raised eyebrows, " Wait - the Doctor? He's your Dad? But he's - "

Lily shrugged, " I know, but believe me, he's my Dad. "

They fell into a silence, and started watching the coronation on one of the televisions. They were both staring at the television when the door banged open and the Doctor stood there, grinning.

" What have I missed? " he asked.

" Doctor! " exclaimed Tommy.

" What happened? " Lily asked.

The Doctor laughed, " Sorted. Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form - that's me, by the way. I turned the reciever back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here," he tapped a video," I just invented the home video 30 years early. Betamax. "

Lily grinned and stood up, looking at her Dad. She laughed and threw her arms around him. He closed his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

" Did you ever doubt me? " he asked.

" Never," she replied, " knew you'd be able to do it. "

The Doctor smiled and pointed at the television, noticing the coronation, " Ah, God save the Queen. "

Lily nodded, " Let's go get Rose. Tommy, we'll get you home and that's this done. "

The Doctor agreed and the three of them made their way back to the street. Outside in the street there was a large crowd of people gathered, milling around and meeting up with the ones who'd been lost, again.

Tommy ran up to his Gran and hugged her happily, while Lily and the Doctor looked for Rose. The Doctor scanned the crowd eagerly and spotted Rose at the exact same moment that she saw he and Lily.

Lily stood back and watched as Rose and the Doctor grinned at each other and sprinted across the street. She watched as Rose laughed when the Doctor picked her up and she smiled in a sad sort of way as they hugged tightly, and Rose clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder.

Watching them so happy made her think about Jack, and how happy she'd been with him. How much they could have had if nothing had happened to him.

They stayed in their embrace for a long moment, and she barely noticed as they broke apart and approached her.

" Are you _tearing _up? " the Doctor asked his daughter, poking her side.

Lily shook her head, wiping away the tear that rolled down her cheek, and muttering a "No."

" You are," the Doctor said, shaking his head at her," what's wrong? "

Lily shook her head, " It's just ... watching you two together. " She shook her head again, smiling slightly, " I'm just being stupid ... I miss Jack. "

" Don't be daft," Rose said, with a smile," you've got us, haven't you? "

Lily nodded," Yeah ... come here, you," she added, reaching out and hugging Rose warmly," good job we've got you back. "

Rose looked at the Doctor when she'd broken away from the Lily," What happened then? How did you sort if all out? "

The Doctor explained everything to Rose as they strolled down the street. There were crowds of people there, playing out in the street, laughing away, talking and dancing. There were long tables of food and drinks, and loud music played out.

" We could go down the mall," Rose said," join in with the crowd. "

" Nah," the Doctor said, " that's just pomp and circumstance. This is history right here. "

" The domestic approach," Rose nodded.

" Exactly," agreed the Doctor.

The Doctor laughed and Rose looked up at him," Will it ... that thing ... is it trapped for good - on video? "

" Hope so," the Doctor replied," Just to be on the safe side though, I'll use my unrivaled knowledge of trans temporal extirpation methods to neutralise the residual electronic pattern. "

" You what? " Rose asked, confused.

Lily grinned," He's going to tape over it. "

Rose laughed," Leave it to me - I'm always doing that. "

As they continued to walk, they met up with Tommy.

" Tommy! " the Doctor exclaimed," tell you what, you can have the scooter. Little present. But best ... um ... keep it in the garage for a few years though, eh? "

Behind them, Mr Connolly walked down the street with his suitcas,e having being thrown out by his wife, who was now hugging her mother.

" Good riddance," Tommy said, glaring at the man.

" Is that it, Tommy? " asked the Doctor," New monarch, new age, new world - no room for a man like Eddie Connolly. "

" That's right," Tommy said," he deserves it. "

Rose shook her head a bit, detecting the hint of unconditional love for his father, underneath his words. Rose smiled and nudged his shoulder lightly.

" Go after him."

" What for? " Tommy asked.

" He's your Dad," Rose said.

" He's an idiot," Tommy replied.

Rose nodded," Course he is. Like I said, he's your dad. But you're clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don't stop there. Go on. "

Tommy, after another nudge, went off to join his father. They walked side by side and Tommy even took hold of one of his dad's bags. Lily, Rose and the Doctor watched fondly from the distance, and Rose announced that she was going to get a drink.

Left alone with the Doctor, Lily looked up at him, " Good to have her back, isn't it? "

The Doctor grinned," Wouldn't be right without her. "

Lily nodded and then said, " I've got to wonder ... you worked so hard to get her back, and you'd do anything in your power for her. If we could go back and change what happened on the Game Station - I know we can't - but if we _could - _if it had been Rose, and not Jack, you'd have saved her. "

_" _Don't start with this," he said, almost pleading.

Lily continued," Would you do it differently? Would you save Jack the way you'd save Rose? Would you do it differently? "

The Doctor looked at her, " Would _you _do anything different? "

" Course I would," she said," I'd have stopped him going away from Floor 500. Or I'd have gone with him. But would - "

The Doctor shook his head at her," Don't think about the past," he told her," there's no use dwelling over it now - it's already happened. "

Lily nodded, almost defeated," Yeah. Didn't think so. You didn't like him. Or at least, you didn't like him with me. "

The Doctor sighed - he often regretted his decision to leave Jack behind, even though he knew he was fine, but sometimes he felt he'd made the right decision," Listen," he said, laying his hands on her shoulders and bending at the knees slightly to look her in the eye," we all do things that we're not sure about. Sometimes we wish we could do them differently, and sometimes we wouldn't do anything differently. That's just how things works. If you agonise over everything, you'll never be able to do anything again. "

Lily wanted to argue that Jack wasn't just any old decision, but she knew she'd already lost one to her dad, and there was no use arguing anything else.

Rose came back over with glasses of orange juice and stopped when she saw them.

" Alright? " she asked.

The Doctor dropped his hands from Lily's shoulders, and Lily nodded," Yeah. Yeah, we're fine," she said with a smile.

The Doctor took a glass from Rose, as did Lily. Rose and the Doctor clinked their glasses together, and although Lily was hesitant, she put her glass to meet theirs.

*****

**Author's Note: The next chapter **_**IS **_**going to be Army of Ghosts, and then Doomsday. If anyone's got any ideas or requests, or anything for me to think about, please let me know.**


	12. Army of Ghosts

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: Hopefully everyone will think this is alright - it's a bit scary to write episodes that are big, and are the ones that everyone's really waiting for. Also, with regards to Rose's fate, I'd decided a while ago what was going to happen to her, so some people will be disappointed with it, but it's what I'm going for.**

Army of Ghosts

Lily sighed as she stood in the console room, alongside her dad and Rose.

" You know," she said, looking at Rose," we_ always _get into trouble when we visit your mother. I think she's some sort of magnet. "

Rose shrugged," We get into trouble everywhere we go, don't we? I don't think it's limited to my mum. "

" Still," Lily said, a mischevious smile crossing her face.

Rose smiled playfully and looked over at the Doctor," You can talk - your dad's the biggest magnet for trouble that we could ever find. "

" Oh, thats not fair," the Doctor said, pulling down on one of the levers," it's not always my fault ... it's just a coincidence that when I show up, there's always killer aliens or something on the loose ... I would blame Mickey, but since he's not around anymore ... "

Rose shook her head at him," Poor Mickey. "

The Doctor pulled another lever, and soon the TARDIS was safely landed on Earth. London. 2006.

Rose stepped out first, followed by the time lord and lady. Lily looked around and saw that they were in a children's play area. It was a bright day, and Rose grinned before heading off towards the flats on the Powell Estate.

The Doctor offered out his arm to his daughter, and she smiled, sliding her arm through his as they followed Rose. As they walked, Lily thought of other times they'd spent in London - the Sycorax at christmas, the Slitheen, but the time that stuck out the most was a time when there hadn't even been any chaos.

It had been straight after they'd met Jack in the blitz. She and Jack had spent their time flirting lightly and even then, the attraction between them had been clear. She remembered him throwing his jacket around her when she was cold. She remembered making him coffee in Jackie's kitchen - she remembered the look on his face. She'd never been able to make a nice coffee, and they vowed there and then that one day they'd find someone who could make a good cup of coffee. She remembered how he'd always been so charming and fantastic.

" What're you thinking about? " the Doctor asked, nudging her," you're miles away. "

She shook her head, as if trying to shake herself away from the thoughts," Jack," she answered simply.

The Doctor didn't have a reply - once again, he felt the same guilt he always did when he thought of how he'd seperated them. And the same bit of confidence that he'd done the right thing - Jack would have hurt her in the end.

" You know," the Doctor said, as they walked up the stairs to the flat," one day, you'll find someone else. "

" Don't," Lily said, shaking her head," I don't want anyone else - I never will. "

They fell into silence as they made their way to Jackie's flat. They were there just after Rose, and arrived in time to see Jackie standing in the hallway, staring at them. " Oh," she said, both pleased and exasperated," I don't know why you bother with that phone - you never use it! "

Rose grinned, and threw her arms around her mum.

" Oh, I love you! " Jackie laughed, hugging Rose tightly," I love you so much. "

" I love _you," _Rose said with a grin.

Lily smiled at them, and tried to make for the kitchen, but Jackie released Rose and turned to the time lady. Jackie hadn't like Lily or the Doctor at first, but she grew to like them when she realised how much Rose loved the Doctor, and how fond she was of Lily.

" Come here, you," Jackie said, hugging her too," how're you doing? "

Lily hated the note of sympathy - the last time she'd seen Jackie had been the whole Sycorax thing. It had been straight after she'd lost Jack, and she'd been a grieving mess. She was still grieving, she supposed, but not on the surface.

" I'm alright," she simply replied, before Jackie moved onto the Doctor, grabbing him and kissing him before he could escape.

Lily laughed when Jackie released the Doctor, leaving him to wipe her kiss away on the back of his hand, looking like a little boy who'd been kissed by an elderly aunt.

He gave her a look that told her it wasn;t funny, as they followed Jackie and Rose into the living room.

Rose shrugged her bag off her shoulders and smiled at Jackie," I've got loads of washing for ya! And I bought you this! "

Delving in her bag, she pulled out a tiny ornate bottle and continued," I got it at the market on this asteroid baazar. It made of .. um ... " she looked at the Doctor," what's it called? "

" Bezoolium," Lily supplied, since the Doctor was flicking through OK! Magazine.

" Bezoolium," nodded Rose, " that's the one. When it gets cold, yeah, it means it's gonna rain - when it's hot, it's gonna by sunny. You can tell the weather with it! "

Jackie nodded," I've got a suprise for you and all. "

" Oh right," Rose muttered," I get you bezoolium, and you do'nt even say thanks. "

Jackie continued as if she hadn't spoken," Guess who's coming to visit? You're just in time - he'll be here at ten past - who do you think it is? "

" I don't know," Rose replied.

" Just guess! " Jackie said with excitement.

" I hate guessing," Rose sighed," just tell me. "

Jackie laughed, so pleased, and Lily wondered what on Earth could make her so pleased," it's your grandad. Grandad Prentice. He's on his way. Any minute! Right - cup of tea! "

Jackie suddenly disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the time travellers alone.

" She's gone mad," Rose whispered.

" Tell me something new," the Doctor said, as all three of them stared after her

" No," Rose said, shaking her head," Grandad Prentice - that's her dad. But he died, like ten years ago. Oh my god. She's lost it. Mum? " she added, following Jackie into the kitchen.

Without missing a beat, Lily and the Doctor followed Rose, stopping in the kitchen doorway.

" Mum, Rose said gently," grandad passed away. His heart gave out. Don't you remember? "

" Course I do," Jackie said lightly.

" Then what are you on about? " Rose asked in confusion," how can he come back? "

Jackie checked her watch," I don't know. Ask him yourself. Ten past. Here he comes. "

Then right before their eyes, a figure stepped into the kitchen out of nowhere. Lily looked at it in confusion - it was sheer, sort of shadowy figure, without any features, but it was definitley human in shape and figure.

" Here we are! " Jackie laughed," say hello to Rose, Dad. Hasn't she grown? "

" What? " Lily said with disbelief, looking from the figure ot her Dad, who looked equally shocked, as did Rose, " are there more of them? It just came out of no-where! "

The Doctor swallowed," Outside. Let's look," he said, before turning on his heel. Lily and Rose ran out too, and the three of them ran outside, onto the balcony.

" They're everywhere! " Lily called, shaking her head in confusion. As they looked around, the ghost like things were just standing there like ordinary people. The other people didn't seem remotely alarmed by their prescense, and just continued as if it were usual.

" Why is no-one screaming? " the Doctor asked, looking down at them all," no-one running? There should be a bit of running, at least. "

Jackie joined them outside the flat, " They haven't got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade. "

" What d'you mean _shift? " _asked the Doctor, baffled," since when do ghosts have shifts? Sicne when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on? "

Jackie bit back a smirk," Oh, bit happy when I know more than him, is he? "

" Not happy when anyone knows more than him, more like," Lily replied quickly.

" No-one's freaking out," the Doctor said.

" Why should we? " shrugged Jackie, checking her watch," Here we go. Twelve minutes past. "

Right on cue the ghosts disappeared, leaving Lily looking even more confused than before, the look on her face mirrored by the Doctors, and again by Rose's.

Following the others back into the flat, Lily contemplated what was happening - though she had no idea. It was unlike anything they'd seen before - just ... what was going on? How long had they been away? It was suddenly normal to have ghosts visting in shifts?

" Look," Jackie said," they're all over - it's not just us. " She handed the Doctor the remote and he sat down in front of the tv, watching. Lily sat at his side, while Jackie and Rose sat on the sofa.

On the telly was what looked like a weather report, but on the map, were tiny silver dots, while the weatherman read, " And tonight we're expecting very strong ghosts from the south. "

The Doctor turned over the channel - it was Jeremy Kyle. A woman announced she loved her ghost.

Another channel. It was a television advert where a housewife claimed that her ghost was dull and lifeless until she discovered Ectoshine.

Another channel. A French news report where ghosts milled around in front of the Eiffel Tower. on other channels, they were in front of the Taj Mahal, hanging around by the Sydney Opera House.

" All over the world," the Doctor said.

" What's going on? " Lily asked, quietly.

The Doctor just shook his head," I don't know. "

On the BBC, an episode of Eastenders was playing. Peggy Mitchell was standing behind the bar of the pub, having an argument with a ghost, " Listen to me, Den Watts. I don't care if you have come back from the dead, get out of my pub! The only spirits I'm serving in here are gin, whisky and voda. Now - GET OUT! "

" When did it start? " asked the Doctor, turning off the tv and turning to Jackie.

" Well," Jackie grinned," first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down and - "

" No, worldwide," the Doctor said impatiently.

" Oh! " Jackie nodded," well that was about two months ago. Just happened. We woke up one morning and there they all were - ghosts everywhere. We all ran around screaming and that - the whole planet was panicking - no sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank it. Took us time to realise that ... we're lucky. "

" They're ghosts? " Lily asked, skeptically " these ghosts just appeared from no-where? "

" What makes you think it's grandad? " Rose asked.

Jackie sighed," Just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it, Rose? "

Rose shook her head sadly, " I wish I could man ... but no. "

" You've got to make an effort," Jackie told her," you've got to _want _it, sweetheart. "

The Doctor intervened," The more you want it, the stronger it gets. "

" Sort of, yeah," Jackie agreed.

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, " Like a psychic link. Course you want your old dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existance. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in. "

" You're spoiling it," Jackie said quietly.

" I'm sorry," the Doctor said, and Lily could tell that he really was," but there's no smell. No cigarettes. Just a memory. "

" Then what are they? " Lily asked, shaking her head," they're not ghosts, so they must be something else. "

" But they're human! " Jackie insisted," you've seen them - they look human! "

Lily understood the need to wish someone alive so much, that you had to believe they were there, but she frowned - something was off here. Who ever was in charge of these ghosts, was not doing a good thing.

" They're definitely people," Rose said carefully.

The Doctor bit his lip thoughtfully - a trait that he seemed to have picked up from his daughter, since he was sure he'd never had it before, " Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot. "

With that he went off towards the door.

" Hey! " Lily called, " where're you doing? "

" TARDIS," the Doctor told her, " there's something I need to do. C'mon you lot. "

" Well, you're not leavin' me behind! " Jackie protested, following the three of them to the front door.

They made their way to the TARDIS, though the Doctor refused to tell them what was going on, and what he was doing. When they got to the little blue box, the Doctor went straight inside, while Jackie and Rose stood outside, and Lily hovered in the doorway.

" Whatcha doing? " she asked, as he got on the floor under the console.

" Nothing you can help with," he told her, " just keep an eye out, see what's going on," he said.

" You're serious? " she asked, " look-out duty? There's nothing to keep any eye _on. "_

He sighed and came out rom under the console to look at her, " Who's the parent around here? "

Lily sighed and turned away rom the doorway, folding her arms as she looked across the car park.

The Doctor looked at Jackie and gave her a small shrug, " Kids - they never listen to their parents, do they? "

Ten minutes later, the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS wearing a rucksack on his back, and arranging three cone shaped devices in a triangle shape.

" When's the next shift? " he asked Jackie, loking across at her, while they all watching him curiously.

" Quarter to," Jackie said, checking her watch, " but don't go causing a load of trouble. What's all this lot do? "

" Triangulates the point of origin," he replied promptly.

" Ahhhh, clever," Lily nodded.

" Don't suppose it could be Gelth? " asked Rose thoughtfully.

The Doctor shook his head, " Nah. They were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper. "

Jackie sighed crossly, " You'll always doing this. Reducing it to science. Why can't it be real? Just think of it, though ... all of the people we've lost - our families coming back home. Don't you think it's beautiful? "

The Doctor stopped arranging his things and shook his head, " I think it's horrific. Rose, Lily, give us a hand. "

He started unwinding a cable, leading it through the TARDIS, and the pair of them followed him.

He plugged it into the console of the TARDIS and Jackie also stepped inside, closing the door behind herself. The Doctor started explaining things to them at a break-neck speed.

" As soon as it becomes activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop ... " He took out his sonic screwdriver and tossed it to her, " setting 15b. Hold it there for eight seconds and then stop. Lily, same with the your spanner on the other side - if it goes blue, stop right away. "

He was off again, rushing around outside in the play area with the wires.

" What's the line doing? " he shouted from outside the TARDIS.

" It's alright! " Lily replied.

" It's holding," Rose nodded, plunging the screwdriver into the console and holding it tightly.

Jackie shook her head at her daughter while the two girls worked away, " You even look like him," she told her quietly.

Rose looked up, suprised, " How d'you mean? "

" You've changed," Jackie said.

" For the better," Rose grinned. Lily found herself smiling, almost proudly, before adding, " She's still Rose Tyler though. "

" What happens when I'm gone though? "

" Don't talk like that! " Rose said, shocked.

" I mean it! " Jackie said," when I'm dead and gone, you'll have no reason to keep coming back here, and then what will you do? D'you think you'll ever settle down? "

" The Doctor never will, so I can't," Rose said, shaking her head," I'll just keep on travelling. "

Jackie sighed, " And you're happy with this? This is how things have to be? He won't settle, and you won't leave him. Lily, are you the same - you're happy to never setttle down - never be in charge of your own life? "

Lily shrugged, " Rose and I are completely different. Besides, there's only one man I'd ever settle down with, and that option isn't available to me anymore. "

Jackie turned back to Rose, " You'll keep on changing. And in forty years time, fifty, there'll be this woman - this strange woman ... walking through the marketplace on some strange planet a billion miles away from Earth. She's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human ... "

Rose looked at her mum for a moment before breaking the gaze and shouting to the Doctor, " The scanner's working - it says Delta One Six. "

They heard the Doctor laugh as his device started to work. On the monitor inside the TARDIS, Jackie, Rose and Lily watched what was going on. Inside the triangle, a ghost was trapped inside an electric blue triangle of light. The Doctor fiddled with a knob, and the ghost shuddered and groaned, before suddenly giving him an electric shock.

Lily watched him stagger backwards with a frown, and saw the ghost shudder some more, until it disappeared.

The Doctor nodded to himself and gathered the equipment, rushing back inside the TARDIS with it.

" I said so! " he shouted, as he looked around at them, " those ghosts have been forced into exsistence for one specific point. And I can track down the source. Allons-y! "

He pulled down on a lever.

" We're going to the place where all the ghosts originate from? " Lily asked.

The Doctor nodded, " Yeah," he told her, " don't know where that it, but we'll soon find out. Hmm ... allonsy - I like that. I should say allonsy more often. Allonsy. Watch out, Rose Tyler. And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso. Because then I could say " Allonsy Alonso! Every time. " He broke off and grinned, noticing where Rose's eyes were fixed, " you're staring at me. "

" My mum's still on board," Rose muttered as the TARDIS began flight.

" If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you! " Jackie called from the other side of the room.

Lily smiled as she looked up at her dad, " Brilliant, huh? " she lowered her voice, " we're stuck with Jackie for the forseeable future. "

The Doctor supressed a smirk, before hitting a button.

" And we're landed," he grinned, " now ... let's see where we are. "

They all gathered around the monitor and saw what was going on outisde the TARDIS. The TARDIS was in a storage area or something. Soldiers burst through the doors of the room, holding guns, shouting and getting into their positions.

" Oh well done," Lily muttered.

" Oh well," the Doctor shrugged, " there goes the advantage of suprise. Still, cuts to the chase. Rose, stay in here and look after Jackie. "

" I'm not look after my mum! " protested Rose.

" Well, you brought her. "

" I was kidnapped! " Jackie cried out indignantly.

" You're staying here, both of you," the Doctor told them before going towards the door. He stopped when he realised Lily was following him, and turned around to face her, " you're staying too. "

" _What? _I don't want to stay here and - "

The Doctor cut her off, giving her one of those stern parent faces that told her he didn't want an argument, " Lily, you're staying. " When she tried to argue again, he sighed and widhed his daughter wasn't so strong willed, and argumentative.

He laid his hands on her shoulders and stooped slightly to look her in the eyes better, " Listen me - everything I do is _always_ in your best interests. There are men out there with guns, so I want my daughter safe, right? "

She sighed and nodded - it was sometimes so hard to avoid his sensible parenting techniques. He gave her a half smile and kissed her forehead gently, " It'll be fine," he told her.

She nodded again, her confudence in him never wavering.

He made for the door again, but it was Rose who stopped him this time, by calling, " Doctor! They've got guns! "

" I know," the Doctor nodded casually, " and I haven't. Which makes me the better person, don't you think? They can shoot me dead, but I've still got the moral high ground. "

With that, he didn't give them another chance to argue, as he opened the door of the TARDIS and stepped through it.

Lily, Jackie and Rose watched through a crack in the door, unseen, as the Doctor raised his hands in surrender. Suprisingly, he was greeted by applause.

A woman in a smart black suit, with wavy blonde hair, and a polished appearance, seemed ot be in charge. She hurried towards the Doctor, applauding. The soldiers lowered their guns and followe her applause.

Lily watched as her Dad lowered his hands in confusion and nodded, " Right, um, thanks. I'm the Doctor, by the way. "

" Oh, I should say," the woman nodded," hurray! "

" Oh, you've heard of me then? " the Doctor asked, a little confused.

" Well of course we have! " the woman replied, as if it were obvious, " and I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor, and the TARDIS! "

She started clapping again, and Lily knew that her dad was slightly pleased by this, but he soon called for silence. " And .. and you are? " he asked.

The woman smiled widely, " Oh, plenty of time for that. But according to records, you're not one for travelling Doctor, his daughter - Lily, I believe - and his companion. That's a pattern, isn't it? Right? There's no point hiding anything from us? So where are they? "

Lily suddenly felt a pang of worry about what was going to happen next - she knew the Doctor wouldn't do anything to risk her safety, but this woman seemed to know a lot about them - whoever she was.

" Yes! " the Doctor said quickly," sorry, good point. Lily's not actually with me at the moment - you know what kids are like. She decided she'd had enough of travelling. She's finally hit a rebellious stage. She met some bloke not so long ago, and she decided to go off with him for a while ... it won't last, I told her that ... but she's not with me. "

Lily had to admire his skills at improvising.

" Anyway," he continued," here she is ... Rose Tyler. "

Lily took a step backwards as the Doctor's hand appeared just inside the door of the TARDIS. She moved well out of the way, and was suprised when he grabbed hold of Jackie's arm, and pulled her out of the door. Rose was also suprised, by Lily pulled her out of the way of the door, as Jackie was pulled to the Doctor's side.

The Doctor grinned as he turnd to the woman in the suit, " Hmm - she's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. And just last week, she stared into the heart of the TARDIS and aged 57 years. But she'll do. "

" I'm 40! " protested Jackie.

The Doctor laughed, " Deluded. Bless her. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good - I mean not bad. Well, I say not bad ... anyway. Lead on. But not too fast, her ankle's going. "

On the monitor of their ship, Lily and Rose watched everyone walk away, leaving the pair of them alone in the TARDIS.

" Well," Rose said as they were left alone," isn't this just brilliant? We don't even know what this place is! "

Lily grinned," We can easily remedy that. " She stuck her hand in her pocket and searched for her psychic paper, frowning as she checked the many pockets in her long trenchcoat.

" We're going to get out of here, aren't we? " Rose asked.

" You got it," Lily nodded.

" But the Doctor said to stay here," Rose pointed out.

Lily shrugged, " That was when we were surrounded by people with guns. Now I'm using my initative. We're gonna find out what this place is, then we'll get back to the parents. For now, my dad and your mum will have to manage without us. "

Suddenly, there was a jolt, and the TARDIS started to move. Lily and Rose exchanged suprised looks as something towed away the TARDIS.

" What's going on? " whispered Rose, looking at Lily with wide eyes.

Lily shrugged, " I don't know. Maybe they're just moving us. "

They fell into silence, waiting to find out what was going to happen next. The TARDIS was towed away and when it stopped, they exchanged looks. Lily nodded and they left through the front door. They found themselves tucked away in the corner of the factory floor.

They quickly dodged when they saw two men in long white coats, but they stopped when they saw two men with guns around the other corner. Lily spotted a pair of discarded lab coats, and she threw one on, tossing Rose the other.

Happy with that, Lily walked out into the open with Lily, and no-one gave them a second glance. They saw a man striding purposefully through a door and followed him quickly.

They were walking down the corridor, still following the man, from a distance. He rounded a corner and a door closed behind him. Looking down at the paper in her hand, Lily looked at Rose, and then pressed the paper against a keypad hopefully, grinning when it worked, and the door opened.

The two women stepped through the door and saw that they were in some sort of chamber. It was a large room, captivating, and elevated in the air at one end of the room was a huge sphere. Lily stared at the sphere, transfixed, until the man they'd followed in cleared his throat loudly.

" Can I help you? " he asked. He was a dark skinned man with slick dark hair and a long white coat.

Rose shook her head, " I was just ... "

" Try not to look," the man said," it does that to everyone. What do you want? "

Lily cleared her throat and took charge," Sorry. They sent us from personnel. They said some man had been taken prisoner - some kind of Doctor. I'm just ... checking that the lines of communication. Did they tell you anything? "

" Can I see some authorisation? " the man asked.

Lily nodded confidently, " Sure, you can," she said, handing over her paper.

The man took it and nodded, " That's lucky," he said, looking over the top of the paper at her," everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training. This paper is blank - you're fakes. "

Lily sighed, and Rose closed her eyes a little.

The man sighed, though after a moment, his eyes lit up a little as he rushed over to a machine he had at the back of the room. He checked it and frowned, shaking his head, before looking back at Lily.

" Never mind fake," he said," you're not even a human. Two hearts ... but this is legendary in the Torchwood Archives. You must be Time Lord. "

" Lady," Lily corrected, shaking her head, " but otherwise, yeah. Since you've got us figured out already .. might as well show off about it. Last of the female time lords. Last time lady. "

The man raised his eyebrows, looking a little impressed, " Then you're Lily. You're the daughter of the Doctor? "

" Oh yeah," she nodded," and since we're so legendary, I don't suppose you'd mind answering a few question. "

" I don't think I should," he frowned.

Lily gave him a winning smile - something she had started to learn from Jack, what seemed like such a long time ago," C'mon," she said," you could at least tell me what this place is? Who you lot are. "

The man nodded," You might as well know. This is the Torchwood Institue. Founded by Queen Victoria in 1879 to protect the British Empire from aliens threats. Actually set up after Her Majesty met the Doctor and Lily, and decided they - well, you - were a threat. "

" So I'm the enemy? " she laughed, while Rose looked on in interest, " that's a new one. What do you lot do, anyway? "

The man raised his chin, proudly, " The Torchwood Institute has a motto: "if it's alien, it's ours. " Anything that comes from the skiy - we strip it down, and we use it. For the good of the British Empire. "

" Stuff like this sphere? " Lily asked," Void Ship, am I right? Where did it come from? You don't find these hanging around everywhere. "

" They said you were clever," the man said," even if your friend doesn't talk much. "

Lily shrugged," Yeah well. If you'd met my dad, you'd know where the gob comes from. Rose is here to look pretty and flirt with my dad. Anyway, this sphere? " she added, before Rose could protest, as she cleared wanted to.

The man - Dr Rajesh Patel, juding by the name on the identity tag hanging from his belt - told her, " The sphere came here from a hole from another world. It's not active at the moment, but when we fire particle engines at the right spot, the breech opens up. "

" And that's where the ghosts come through," Lily nodded, as if finally understanding it - it elt odd to the smart one for one - to be the one doing the clever stuff, while the Doctor wasn't in the room with them.

Rajesh looked rather proud of the achievements of the Institue, " We were getting warning signs for years. A radar black-spot. So we built this place. Toorchwood Towee. The breech was 600 foot above sea level. It was the only way to reach it. "

Lily rolled her eyes, and shook her head, " Humans. You lot really don't think anything through, do you? So you find the breech, probe it, the sphere comes through. 600 feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you lot think " oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe? " Nah, you think "let's make it _bigger! "_

" It's a massive source of energy," said Rajesh with a shrug, " if we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. "

" This is ridiculous," Lily said," you can't keep doing this with the ghosts - you keep doing this, and what with the void and the breech, the universes are gonna explode. "

" Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes. "

Rajesh suddenly put a hand to his ear, a comm attached to his ear, " What? Right ... right. " Looking back at Lily and Rose, he was silent.

" Who was that? " Lily asked curiously

" The boss - next Ghost Shift's cancelled apparently," he told them," but I think it's time you went - you don't really belong here. You shouldn't be here. Samuel? Isaac? Check the locks, will you? She just walked right in here. "

" Doing it now, sir," "Samuel" said, heading for the door.

" Got you," agreed the man he'd called Isaac.

As the two men headed for the locks, Samuel turned, and Lily turned to Rose with shock - Samuel wasn't Samuel - he was Mickey. But Mickey had been in the parallel world. He slowly put a finger to his lips, and Lily saw Rose nod.

She was even more suprised when she saw who the other man was - Ianto. Parallel Jack's husband. This suprised her greatly - firstly, what were they doing here? How? What? How? She never thought she'd see that man again - of all the people to see. It didn't pain her the way it had the first time, but it was still painful.

But that meant if they were here, Jack could be around somewhere.

Rajesh told Rose and Lily to take a seat.

Lily sighed as she sat down, lost for words - this was going to be another strange trip to London.


	13. Army of Ghosts Part Two

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: Sorry about the delay between chapters - the internet hasn't been working recently, and it's still a bit dodgy.**

Chapter Thirteen

Rose and Lily sat down opposite Rajesh. Lily folded her arms, looking at Rajesh cooly, determined not to lose her cool, though she was furious at being locked up, and furious at what Torchwood were doing. Though she was also confused by the precense of Ianto and Mickey.

She looked over at them, and this time Ianto caught her eye. Lily thought of the first and only other time she'd met him - he and parallel Jack had both been so understanding about her own Jack, and she never thought she'd see them again.

Ianto gave her what she knew was supposed to be a comforting smile, though if she was going to see Jack again - even if it was a different Jack - little was going to calm her down.

" What're you going to now then? " Lily asked after a moment, composing herself and looking at Rajesh.

He was already busy setting up the webcam on a laptop.

When he was done, he looked from the two women, to the laptop, which was showing what was going on in the rift chamber. Jackie and the Doctor were sat down, with the woman in the suit stood behind them.

" Yvonne? " Rajesh called, causing the Doctor, Jackie and the woman - Yvonne, apparently - to turn their attention to the laptop," Yvonne, I think you should see this. Two visitors. _This _one's the Doctor's daughter. And _this _one's his companion, apparently. "

" Daughter? " Yvonne asked, with a grin, as Lily and Rose peered through the webcam, " and you said she wasn't with you, Doctor. These are with you then? "

" Of course not," said the Doctor.

Yvonne nodded, " Good. So we can have them shot, can't we? "

" No! " the Doctor replied quickly, " no, don't. It was a worth a try though. That's my daughter, Lily, and that's .. that's Rose Tyler. "

Yvonne frowned, " If that's Rose Tyler, then who's _she? "_

Lily supressed a smirk as the Doctor looked distastefully at Jackie, who glared at him, " She's ... she's .. "

" I'm her mother," Jackie said.

Yvonne smirked, " You travel with her mother. "

" He kidnapped me," Jackie insisted.

" Please," the Doctor said, shaking his head, " when Torchwood come to write my complete history, don't mention that I travel with her mother. "

" Charming," Jackie muttered.

Suddenly, Lily watched as Yvonne turned away and started shouting something about the Ghost Shift. Jackie and the Doctor followed, leaving those in the sphere chamber to wonder what was going on up there.

Rajesh shook his head when he saw the reading on the laptop, and put a hand to his earset, " Yvone? I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was cancelled? What's going on? Yvonne? "

There was no answer, and the sphere hanging in the air suddenly shook, catching everyone's attentions. Without hesitation, all five of them rushed over to it and stood staring at it.

The sphere didn't stop shuddering - it shook more, and started vibrating, whilst Rajesh frantically looked at the reading.

" What's it doing? " Lily asked, " you must know how this thing works? "

Rajesh shook his head, " I don't know but the reading are off the scale. " He put a hand to his ear again, " Yvonne! We need help - the sphere is active, and the doors have sealed themselves shut! "

There was no answer, and Lily stuck out her arms, standing in front of everyone as the sphere shuddered, " Don't get too close - you don't know what it might do. "

" What makes you in charge? " demanded Rajesh, shaking his head at her.

Lily shrugged in an offhand way, " Because I said so. "

As Rajesh hurried to check the computers again, Mickey looked at the girls, " It'll be alright, you know," he told them, " we beat them before and we can beat them again. That's why we're here. The fight goes on. "

" How can you even _be _here? " Lily asked, " parallel words - you shouldn't be able to cross the void. And the fight against what? "

" The Cybermen," Ianto said, as Lily turned to look at him, all thoughts focused on what was going on. Think like Dad, that was what she told herself.

Ianto continued, " We've been keeping watch for them, ever since you lot left, and the Doctor warned us that the Cybermen might be back. We formed our own version of Torchwood - "

" Who's "we"? " asked Lily quickly.

Iaanto shrugged a little, " Not many of us. Me and Mickey, Jake, Pete and ... " he paused a little, awkwardly.

" And Jack," Lily nodded, swallowing with some difficulty before clearing her throat and asking, " anyway, the Cybermen? "

Ianto nodded and carried on swiftly, as if there was nothing unusual about the situation - the fact that she had been in such a deep love with Jack, and he was married to a parellel - alive - version of Jack. " They came to our world again, and we fought them again. Had them beat. But then they escaped. Just vanished. They found a way through to this world, and then so did we. "

Rose frowned, in disbelief, " But the Doctor said this was impossible. "

" It should be," Lily said, " this could cause so many problems - you can't just jump from one world to the next! " she added, raising her voice, trying to make everyone understand the problmes. As she heard herself talk, she knew she was getting more and more like her dad.

" We can," Mickey said, " we've got all sorts of technology. "

" No," Lily said, " every time you cross the void to get to the parallel universe, you rip a hole in the fabric of the universe. The Cybermen - if they really _are _here - are breaking down the breach. If it continues, both worlds are going to fall into the void. This is trouble. "

Her words were followed by a pause, during which everyone looked back at the sphere, where a loud crash emitted from inside it.

" What in there? " Rose asked.

Mickey shrugged, looking at Ianto - his collegue - and back at Rose, " We don't know. Cyber leader, Cyber King, Emperor of the Cybermen ... whatever it is ... it's dead meat. "

As Mickey and Rose then told each other how great it was to be reunited, and shared a big hug, Lily looked at Ianto with a frown, " Cybermen have never really had leaders ... they're all supposed to be equal. I don't think that's what's in there. "

" Then what? " Ianto asked.

" I don't know," Lily said. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

" Aren't you going to ask about him? " Ianto said quietly, as he looked at Lily carefully, almost sympathetically.

Lily looked at him, knowing exactly what he meant, " I didn't want to ask you. He's not mine. Not this one, anyway. He's yours, and you're ... you're happy together. "

Ianto looked even more sympathetic, which made Lily feel awful - she didn't want anyone's sympathy. Sympathy was too hard to handle. Ianto smiled at her slightly, " It's not your fault," he said, " how you feel. And yes, by the way. Jack's here, somewhere. "

" Great," Lily muttered. It was all she needed - to deal with seeing the parallel version of her lost love, as well as Cybermen apparently showing up, and then whatever was in this sphere.

The sphere shook, and the noise coming from it was now overpowering. Boooming, and crashing, the sphere shuddered and vibrated vigorously, as Rajesh called for help through his earpiece, but got no response.

As the five people in the room looked up at it, a thought struck Lily.

" How many Cybermen escaped you? " she asked, looking from Ianto, to Mickey.

Mickey sucked in a breath sharply, " Loads. Couple of million. "

" Hmmm," Lily said, biting her lip as she thought about it, before shouting over the noise of the sphere, " millions of Cybermen! Hiding on this Earth, and we can't see them! And at the same time, I come here and find ghosts everywhere! " She paused, and shook her head, realising, " but they're not ghosts. "

" Then what? " Rose asked.

" Don't you get it? " Lily asked loudly, " they're all Cybermen! All of the ghosts are Cybermen! There's millions of Cybermen right across the world! "

She stopped, realising that the sphere had stopped making noise. Her mind was filled with the awful thoughts about the Cybermen. All the chaos they could cause, everything that could happen. But then everyone's attention was captured by the sphere.

Slowly, cracks started to appear on the perfect surface, and though the cracks came a bright golden light. The light filled the room as the sphere opened more and more.

" It's Cybermen in there! " Mickey shouted, " It's got to be! " He ran for the desk and pulled two large weapons from there, tossing one to Ianto, who caught it deftly. They both pointed them at the sphere.

" Samuel! " Rajesh snapped," Isaac, what are you doing? "

" Oh, for heaven's sake," scoffed Lily, rolling her eyes," haven't you been paying attention to anything. These two aren't some security men. "

" Too right we're not," Mickey nodded, cocking his weapon, and pulling it up, " we're here to defend the Earth. "

" I'm telling you, it's not Cybermen," Lily said," at least, not on their own. That's a void ship, and the Cybermen don't have the technology to create that. "

More light came from the sphere, and the top of it came completely off. Lily held her breath and watched curiously as something started to emerge from it. Lily took a step closer, narrowing her eyes and she realised what it was. Or what she thought it was, at least. Dread filled the pit of her stomach as she realised what it was, however much she didn't want to believe it.

" That's not Cybermen," Mickey said, thrown off, as a familiar enemy rose up.

Three others followed, and then there were four of them, gliding from the sphere effortlessly.

" Oh my God," Rose muttered.

" Location: Earth," bleated a Dalek," life forms detected. Exterminate! "

" Something tells me we're in trouble," Ianto said, amining his gun at them.

" Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! " chorused the four Daleks.

Until now, Lily had been stunned into silence. Daleks. Bloody Daleks. She'd never been a fan of them, of course - thety had always been the enemy, and for a long time, had been one of the things she feared above all else. Now however, she wasn't filled with fear. It was hatred. The Daleks had taken away the one man who meant anything to her, the only man she'd loved, and would ever love. The Daleks had destroyed him, and a little bit of her with that. And she hated them.

She clenched her fists and stood a few angry steps forwards, " You evil Goddamn pieces of tin! "


	14. Doomsday

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Doomsday

_She clenched her fists and stood a few angry steps forwards, " You evil Goddamn pieces of tin! " _

The Dalek's eyepieces all swivelled towards Lily, as the four of them advanced towards Lily, Rajesh, Rose, Ianto and Mickey.

" You will be exterminated! " one of the Daleks called.

Lily laughed, though there was nothing funny about it, " I will _not. _You lot aren't going to to anything to me, because I'm not some piece of rubbish you can dispose of. I'm not some minor inconvience. I'm not going to be defeated by you. In fact, I'm going to make sure that every last Dalek is wiped out. "

" You will stop talking or be exterminated! " the same Dalek told her.

" You're not going to do anything," Lily said," because I'm quite important. I know all about you, and what's more, I know just the man to get rid of you. "

One of the other Daleks spoke up," The female has two heartbeats. "

" You bet I do," Lily grinned proudly.

" Time Lord! " the Dalek bleated, sounding quite scared - which was some feat for a thing that had no emotions. The other Daleks joined in," Time Lord ... female Time Lord. "

" That's right," Lily nodded proudly, " Last one around. The Doctor's daughter. Ring any bells? In fact, my dad's around here somewhere, too. "

" The Doctor," one of the Daleks croaked, as all four of them moved backwards in shock and fear.

Lily laughed loudly again, and the others looked at her as though she was mental - they had no idea what to expect of what to do, but Lily's focus was on the Daleks. The creatures she felt had ruined her life, and she was determined to take all of her anger out on.

" Oh yeah! " she shouted at them," you think you're some big, clever aliens. But one name sends you cowering in fear! "

" We will find the Doctor and exterminate him forever! " one of the Daleks said.

Lily rolled her eyes," You lot never get it do you? You're not going to do anything. You won't kill him, because you just can't. He's too clever for you. And you won't kill me or my friends because if you do, you won't be able to find the Doctor, and track him down. "

" You will be neccesary," the Dalek who seemed to be in charge said, before looking at one of the others," report the state of the Genesis Ark. "

" Genesis Ark hibernating," came the reply.

" Commence awakening," the first Dalek commanded.

As the Daleks turned to the Genesis Ark, which also emerged from the sphere, and clamped itself to the side of the sphere, Lily looked around at the others.

" What do we do? " Rose asked.

" We wait," Lily said," because I don't have a plan. We'll just go with it, and see what happens. "

" You're going to make this up as we go along? " Mickey demanded, sounding quite annoyed.

Lily shrugged, " Course I am. What else would you expect from _me? _Something will come along, and we'll be fine. Until then ... I'm going to tell these things exactly what I think of them. "

" Is that such a good idea? " Ianto asked, catching her arm as she tried to move forwards again, " you don't want to anger them - they seem dangerous. "

" Oh, they are," she replied," but I'll be fine. "

Ianto rolled his eyes," I'm getting the impression that you never do as you're told ... I can see why Jack ... your Jack ... liked you. I'd be worried about my Jack if I didn't know he was gay. "

Lily was suprised by the unexpected sort of compliment from him - they were in such an odd situation, that if they hadn't already saved a world between them, they would have hated each other.

She gave him a small smile, " Relax, I can handle myself, " she said, before turning back to the Daleks and demanding, " so what do you lot want this time? What's the plan? You're going to sweep in here and take over the world? "

" Daleks will reign supreme! "

Lily scoffed, " And when has _that _ever worked out for you? The last time I met a load of Daleks, they all got killed. Unfortunately, you lot are still here - but not for much longer. I'm going to make sure eveyr last stinking Dalek is wiped out of the sky! "

" The Doctor's daughter has such anger," one Dalek said.

" Yeah, what do you expect? " Lily shouted, taking all of her anger and fury out on these few Daleks," you lot go around killing everything that gets in your way, and that goes against everything I stand for. You kill when it isn't neccesary, and you have no sense of right or wrong. "

" Daleks are superior to everything else," the Daleks chorused.

" You just don't get it, do you? " Lily demanded," you're wrong. The Daleks don't have a future. Not on my watch. Daleks took away something that meant a lot to me, so I'm going to take away the _only _thing that means anything to you - your own lives. "

" How do you plan to do that? " asked one Dalek.

" I'll find a way," Lily said, " and I'm going to do it for _him. _Captain Jack Harkness. My handsome, dashing hero. He was everything I ever wanted, and so much more. Damned Daleks took him away from me, even though he'd never done them any harm. Jack deserves this - someone's got to avenge him. "

" The Doctor's daughter will be silent! " the Daleks chorused.

" The Doctor's daughter will do as she pleases! " Lily snapped, " and there's nothing you lot can do about it! Now, tell me what you want here. That's a order! "

There was a silence, during which Mickey whispered, " Will they take orders from you? "

" I don't think so," Lily whispered back, " In fact, I'm kind of out of ideas. "

" Maybe you should be quiet now," Ianto suggested as all of the Dalek's eyepieces focused on Lily solely, before they all started to advance. Lily noticed the anger in the Daleks precense, and took a few steps backwards.

" God," she muttered," I wish Dad was here. "

The Daleks observed Lily for a moment, before one of them told her, " Daleks do not take orders from you. Without the Doctor, you are powerless. "

" Which one of you is least important? " the Dalek in charge asked.

" I'm in charge," Lily said.

" But which of you is least important? " the Dalek repeated.

" None," Rose replied quickly, taking a step forward, to be level with Lily, " it doesn't work like that - we're a team. "

" Designate the least important! " the Dalek shouted, voice rising in pitch.

" This is my responsibility," Rajesh said, moving forwards.

" Don't! " Lily insisted, though the man ignored her and moved around her to stand dejectedly in front of the Dalek. He took a deep breath and spoke loudly and carefully, " I represent the Torchwood Institute. Anything you need, you come to me. Leave these lot alone. "

" You will kneel," the Dalek ordered.

" What for? " Rajesh asked, with worry, as Lily was also worried and tried to think about what their next move was going to be.

" Kneel," the Dalek continued.

Rajesh did as he was told, and the four Daleks focused their eyepieces on him and closed in. One said, " the Daleks need information about current Earth history. Speech will not be necessary. We will extract brain waves. "

Three Daleks advanced upon Rajesh, and positioned their suction pieces around his head, causing Rajesh to prick up in fear. Lily stared and shook her head.

" Don't you dare," she told them, " you leave him alone! "

" Don't," Rajesh shouted, fearing for himself and trying to back away, " I'll - I'll tell you everything you need. No," they advanced, " no! "

Lily winced as the Daleks put their suction pieces to his head and pressed down on his skull. Rajesh cried out in agony and both Rose and Ianto moved forwards. Lily shook her head, knowing it was too late. She grabbed Ianto's arm and managed to grab Rose's wrist too, stopping them both. There was nothing they could do.

When the Daleks let Rajesh's dead body fall to the ground, Lily released Ianto and Rose, and moved forwards herself, " You didn't need to kill him! There was no need for that! Didn't I say you were wrong! "

One of the Daleks looked at the others, " His mind spoke of a second series invading Earth, infected by the superstition of ghosts. Dalek Thay - investigate outside this room. "

Dalek Thay turned towards the door and left the room.

" Hang on a minute," Lily said, " Thay? You have names. "

" I am Dalek Jast," one Dalek said.

" Dalek Caan," another bleated.

" Dalek Sec," the last said.

" The Cult of Skaro! " Lily exclaimed, throwing her arms out, " I thought you were just a legend! But here you are ... the cult of Skaro. " Turning to the others, she added, " a secret order, above and boyond the emperor himself. Their job was to imagine. All in the name of killing of course where Daleks are concerned. "

" Establish visual contact," Dalek Caan said, " lower communications barrier. "

Suddenly, an image of what was going on outside the sphere chamber was prjected inot the room, an image of what was going on, from Daley Thay's point of view. It showed Thay meeting with two Cybermen - a sight which caused Lily to wince - two of their greatest enemies united.

" Identify! " Thay demanded.

" You will identify first," one Cyberman replied in the robotic monotone.

" State your identity," the Dalek tried again.

Lily ran a hand through her hair - this was going to be worse than she ever could have imagined. Cybermen _and _Daleks. She needed her dad.

She turned back to the projection and watched the Cybermen tell Dalek Thay, " You will identify first. "

" Identify! " Dalek Thay shrieked, as Dalek Sec left the sphere chamber and went to join those in the corridor.

Mickey stared in amazement, " It's like Stephen Hawkings meets the speaking clock. "

" You will modify," the Cybermen said, as they continued to watch with bated breath, no idea what they were going ot do next, and how to carry on from here.

" Daleks do not take orders," Dalek Thay insisted.

The Cyberman seemed satisfied, " You have identified as Daleks."

Dalek Sec bleated, " Outline resembles _inferior _species known as "Cybermen". "

Lily suddenly felt something in her pocket vibrate. She pulled out her phone and was very relieved when she realised it was her Dad. She knew she'd want some signal that she was alright, though she didn't know why he bothered - Time Lord. They knew when others were left. Surely he'd know that she were alive. Though he might not know of she was safe, he realised.

She answered the phone, although she didn't speak dare speak for fear of drawing attention to herself.

" Lily," the Doctor's quiet, but frantic voice said from the other end, " I know you can't really talk to me, but just let me know that everyone's alright. I don't know ... cough. No, don't cough, that's too noisy. I know - two deep breaths down the phone if you and Rose are both safe. "

Lily did as he asked and then she heard his relief through the phone, " Oh, thank god. Now listen, I want you to stay on the phone. You don't have to say anything, or do anything, just keep your phone on and don't end this call if you can help it, right? Two deep breaths means yes. "

Again, she did as he asked.

Then it was a matter of waiting for the Daleks and the Cybermen to make their moves.

They watched over the projection as the Cybermen suggested an alliance, which the Daleks promptly rejected, causing the Cybermen to shoot at the Daleks, only for the ray to bounce straight off the Dalek.

However, when the Dalek shot at the Cybermen, both Cybermen were killed.

Suddenly, there was another projection, and instead of the projection of the corridor, there was a projection of the rift chamber, where more Cybermen were gathered.

" Daleks be warned! " one of the Cybermen shouted, " this is war! "

" This is not war," replied Dalek Sec, " this is mere pest control. "

The Daleks and Cybermen continued to insult each other as Rose, Mickey, Ianto and Lily watched carefully, wonding what to do next as they huddled together. Eventually the Daleks lost patience and shut off the projection, though Dalek Jast called out, " Wait! "

Lily groaned in frustration as the signal on her phone was lost.

" Rewind the image by nine cells," Dalek Jast said slowly.

Lily held her breath as the Daleks got the image back up and rewinded to a certain point, where they saw the Doctor, and zoomed in on him. " This man registers as an enemy," Jast insisted.

Lily smiled, though it was nothing compared to Rose's winning beam.

" The human female's heartbeat has increased rapidly," Dalek Caan said, accusingly.

" Tell me about it," Mickey grinned, causing Rose to nudge him playfully.

" Identify him! " the Daleks chorused.

" Told you, didn't I? " Lily said with a grin, " the Doctor. That's him ... right there, and now, you're screwed. " The four of them reeled back and Lily laughed, " 5 million Cybermen, no problem. Just one of my dear old dad? Now you're scared. "

" We must concentrate on the Genesis Ark," Dalek Thay said, to which they others agreed and they all turned to it.

" Why are we being kept alive? " Mickey asked Lily, Rose and Ianto, " they don't need us - they know where the Doctor is now. "

There was a pause, before Rose said, " They might need me. "

Without giving her a chance to explain, Mickey looked at Rose sideways, " Ianto and I could transport right out of here now. But our things only carry one, and I'm not leaving you. "

" What about you? " Rose asked, " you could go. "

Ianto shook his head, " Course not. Jack's around this place somewhere - I can't leave if I know he's here somewhere. He'd kill me for running off. "

Rose sighed as she looked at Mickey, " You'd follow me anywhere. What the hell have I done to you? "

" Guess I'm just stupid," Mickey shrugged.

Rose shook her head, and Lily turned away, watching them hold hands and share a quick hug.

A moment later, Lily looked at Rose curiously, " What do they want with us? With you? Do you remember the first time you met a Dalek? "

Rose nodded," That's what I was thinking too. " Looking at Ianto and Mickey, she explained, " The first time I met a Dalek, it was broken, dying. But I touched it and brought it back to life. The Doctor says that when you travel in time, in the TARDIS, you soak up background radiation. In the Time War, the Daleks used it was a power supply. If the Daleks have got something that needs waking up, they need ... "

" They need you," Lily said, " or Mickey. Or me. Any of us would do. "

" And me? " Ianto said.

Lily looked at him curiously, " I don't actually know ... you've never travelled in time, but maybe the rest of are so soaked in the background radiation, that they can't distinguish who's got what radiation. "

Mickey frowned, " But why have they built something they can't open themselves? "

Dalek Sec suddenly interjected, " The technology is stolen. The Ark is not of Dalek design. It is Time Lord design. All that remains of their Home World. "

Rose looked at Lily quickly, and Lily shook her head, " I don't know what it is. I can't think of anything it _could _be. "

They fell into silence, until one of the Dalek turned to them some ten minutes later. Turning towards Rose and fixing on her, Dalek Sec said, " Your handprint will open the Ark. "

" Tough," Rose shrugged, " because I'm not doing it. "

" Obey," Dalek Sec said, " or the others will die. "

" Don't," Lily said, " there has to be another way. They won't kill us. "

" You don't know that," Rose replied, " I can't let them kill you lot. "

" Don't," Lily said.

Rose turned away, ignoring Lily.

" Place your hand on the casket," Dalek Sec demanded.

" Alright! " Rose shouted," give me a minute! You're gonna kill us anyway, so what the hell? "

Playing for time, Rose approached slowly, and looked around at the Daleks, " You if you lot escaped the Time War, you don't want to know what happened? What happened to the Emperor. "

" The Emperor survived," Dalek Caan said proudly.

Rose shrugged a little, " Yeah, until he met me. 'Cos if these are gonna be my last words, then you're gonna listen. "

Lily found herself watching her friend with pride, as she stood a little in front of Ianto and Mickey, almost protectively, though they needed no protecting.

Rose continued, " I met the Emperor. And I took the time vortex and I pulled it into his head, and turned him into dust. Do you get that. The God of all Daleks. And I destroyed him. " She ended with a laugh.

" You will be exterminated! " all four of the Daleks said in unison.

" Oh now, hold on, wait a minute," said a calm, familiar voice from the doorway. All heads turned that direction, and Lily beamed when she saw her dad standing there. He strolled into the room calmly, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

" Daddy! " Lily laughed as she ran towards him happily. His daughter's laugh was infectious, and the Doctor grinned, closing his arms around his daughter and catching her with ease as she flew at him. He held her for a long moment and kissed her forehead when they broke apart, his hands still on her shoulders.

" You're alright," he said with a grin, " good job, too ... and when have you ever called me Daddy recently? "

Lily shrugged, " It felt like the right moment. I was scared - there's Daleks and Cybermen. I'm just so glad to see you. "

The Doctor nodded, " And I you. You're sticking with me from now on. "

With that he dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned to Rose, offering her a grin, " How are you? "

" You know," Rose shrugged, with a grin, " same old, same old. "

" Good," the Doctor nodded, looking around the room," Mickity McMickey! Good to see you! "

" And you boss," Mickey said, bashing fists with the Doctor.

" And Ianto Jones," the Doctor said, " we meet again. "

Ianto nodded politely, " Nice to see you, Sir. "

" Social interaction will cease! " Dalek Jast shouted.

Lily rolled her eyes as she looked at the Doctor, " These lot are so rude, aren't they. Hey, you'll never guess who they are! Go on .... who do you think they are? These four are the Cult of Skaro! "

" No way! " the Doctor said, " but I thought they were just a - "

" Apparently not," Lily said, as the Doctor laughed loudly. The others exchanged confused looks - there were somethings that only Lily and the Doctor could get excited about.

Mickey cleared his throat to get attention and pointed towards the Genesis Ark, " They said that that thing was yours. I mean, Time Lords. That you built it. What does it do? "

The Doctor glanced at it, " Never seen it before. "

" Told you," Lily nodded.

" But if it's Time Lord .... " Rose said, shaking her head.

" Both sides had secrets," the Doctor shrugged before looking at the Daleks, " what is it? What have you done? "

Dalek Caan gloated, " Time Lord science will restore Daleks to supremacy. "

" What sort of science? What do you mean? " demanded the Doctor, shaking his head.

Rose cut in, " They said that one touch from a time traveller will wake it up. "

The Doctor nodded, " Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do. Touch. "

" The Doctor will open the Ark! " the Daleks said in unison.

The Doctor just laughed and Lly coulddn't help but smirk. The Doctor laughed louder and said, " The Doctor will not! "

" You have no way of resisting," Dalek Sec pointed out.

" Well," shrugged the Doctor, " you've got me there ... athough ... there is always this. My faithful sonic screwdriver," and with that he pulled it out of his coat pocket.

" It is harmless," Dalek Jast scoffed.

" Oh yes," the Doctor agreed, " Harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't main. But I'll tell you what it does do - it's _very _good at opening doors. "

Lily watched as the Doctor shot at the door, and immediately, Jake - from the parallel world - ran through the door, shooting at the Daleks, Cybermen following behind him

" Delete, delete, delete," the Cybermen chanted.

" Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate! " the Daleks retaliated

The Doctor looked at his companions, " What are you waiting for? " he called over the racket, " everyone out while we've got the chance. "

No-one needed telling twice, and Rose, Mickey, Ianto and Lily made for the door. Lily stumbled on her way, but a pair of arms stopped her from falling. She looked up straight into Jack's face and was both embarrassed, shocked and pained. Her face flushed bright red as he winked at her, " Good to see you again. "

There was no time to say anything else, and they all rushed for the door. Lily vaguely noticed that Pete had joined them.

Once they were all outside the room, the Doctor sealed the door, trapping the Daleks and the Cybermen in the room together, though Mickey had fallen and touched the Genesis Ark during their getaway from the room.

The Doctor looked around at everyone, while Lily tried to look anywhere but at Jack and Ianto. The two men were stood together and Lily saw the loving glance they exchanged. Once again, just seeing this other Jack sent her head spinning - sometimes it was too much. Jack really knew how to throw off her concentration, without even realising it. Without even being _her _Jack.

" Right," the Doctor said quickly, " Jake, check the stairwell, everyone else, come with me. "

Jake ran one way, while everyone ran the other. As Jack, Ianto, Rose, Pete, Mickey, Lily and the Doctor ran down the corridor, Mickey shouted over at the Doctor.

" I'm sorry - about touching the Ark - I didn't mean to! "

The Doctor shook his head, " Without us, they'd have opened it by force. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour. " He grinned, looking at everyone, " Now, run! "

They ran down the corridor, and stopped when they heard a scream - Lily vaguely recognised it, and she realised it was Jackie, followed by the heavy footsteps of a Cyberman.

There was a loud bang, and Pete had shot the Cybermen straight dead with his gun. It left behind a huge cloud of smoke, and when the smoke cleared, Jackie and Pete stared at each other. Lily watched their reunion almost wistfully - the union of people who'd thought they were seperated forever. She almost felt jealous that Jackie and Pete could maybe have another chance. She couldn't - her parallel Jack was happy with Ianto.

" Hello Jacks," Pete said quietly.

Jackie sighed, almost annoyed, " That's not fair. I know there's ghosts, but why him? "

" I'm not a ghost," Pete said, as Lily watched with a hand over her mouth.

" But you died," pointed out Jackie," twenty years ago. "

The Doctor stepped forwards in an attempt to explain, " It's Pete from a different universe. There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existance - a different dimension where - "

Jackie tutted, cutting him off, " Oh, you can shut up. " When the Doctor obeyed, Jackie took a step closer to Pete and everyone watched their reunion, unable to look away, and unable to stop smiling at it.

" You look old," Jackie said.

" You don't," Pete replied.

" How can you be standing there? " Jackie asked, whispering.

" Just got lucky," Pete shrugged, " lived my life. You were left on your own. You didn't marry again, or ... ? "

" There was never anyone else," Jackie replied.

Lily sighed quietly - she wished she could have a chance to be back together with _her _Jack. She'd often imagined a situation where she'd meet Jack again, and they'd share a huge hug, and he'd sweep her off her feet, and promise her they'd never be apart again.

As Jackie and Pete carried on talking, Lily took a step away, and leant against the wall, thinking about Jack.

She closed her eyes, though they soon shot open again when a warm hand touched her arm.

" You alright? "

Lily sighed but nodded, " Yeah. Just thinking," she said, swallowing as she looked up at the parallel Jack - it was so odd to see him. Good to see him again, sort of, but not really. He wasn't the right Jack. He didn't remember anything about her - he wasn't hers.

" About ... about him? " Jack asked.

Lily nodded, " Yeah, you. I mean him ... you know. " She shook her head, " It doesn't matter. Bloody Daleks killed him, and it's so hard to see them again. But I'm going to avenge him, and then everything will be alright. Maybe I'll even wake up to find that this was all a dream. "

Jack gave her one of his winning grins, " He ... I ... whatever ... was sure lucky to have someone like you. "

Lily nodded and said nothing, though Jack turned to look at her, and brought his hand up to touch her cheek lightly. Her skin tingled, and it all felt so perfect in the same way that it always had with him.

Coming to her senses, she grabbed his hand and moved it away from her face, " Don't," she said, " don't try to be kind. It's not going to help. "

Jack looked a little guilty and nodded. They watched each other for a moment, before Lily shook her head at him and moved away, running a hand through her hair - she couldn't deal with it. All this only made her want her Jack back, and she knew that that couldn't happen.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was peering through the doors to the factory floor, where the Daleks and Cybermen were still having their battle.

From inside the room, they could hear the Daleks cries and the Cybermen's chants, and Lily made out the Daleks cry of " Elevate! "

The Doctor pulled the doors of the factory floor shut and turned to everyone, " They're taking the Genesis Ark to the top of the building. We've got to see what it's doing, we've got to go up there. C'mon - all of you - top floor! "

" That's 45 floors up! " Jackie groaned, " believe me, I've done 'em all. "

There was a ding from the lift, and Jake in there, " We could always take the lift," he suggested.

As they all piled into the lift, Lily and the Doctor were the last in. Before they got in, the Doctor looked at his daughter carefully and muttered, " Be careful. "

Lily glanced at Jack, and back at the Doctor.

The Doctor hooked a hand under her arm as they made their way into the lift, " They'll be going home soon," he said, lowering his lips to her ear and muttering," I just - "

" Don't want me to get hurt," she finished, " I know. And I'll be fine. "

The Doctor nodded and drew himself up to full height as they went the rest of the lift journey in silence, all owndering what they might see when they got up there.

When the lift stopped, they all piled out into the rift chamber. The Doctor rushed to the window, and everyone else followed quickly, the Doctor dumping down some megaclamps that Lily noticed for the first time - he must have picked them up from downstairs, while she was distracted. She vaguely wondered what he would do with the clamps.

Looking out of the window, Lily saw that the Genesis Ark was outside, and a Dalek shot straight out of it, followed by another, and another. More and more followed, and Lily watched in horror and she realised what it was - hundreds of Daleks were whizzing from the Ark, all across the sky of London.

" Time Lord science," the Doctor said, wearing an identical expression of horror to Lily's, " it's bigger on the inside. "

" Did the Time Lords put all of those Daleks in there? " Mickey asked, confused, " what for? "

" It's a prison ship," the Doctor said, staring out at the Daleks.

" How many of them are they? " asked Rose carefully.

The Doctor winced, " Million. "

Lily sighed, running a hand through her hair, before throwing her arms out, " Daleks! Always find a way to destroy everythin, don't they? Evil pieces of rubbish ... and then Cybermen too! What the hell are we going to do? "

" I don't know," the Doctor replied quietly, " they're all over the world, and there has to be something we can do. "

Pete shook his head, gritting his teeth as he paced around the room, " I'm sorry," he said, stopping still in the middle of the room," but you've had it, Doctor. This world's gonna crash and burn, and there's nothing we can do about it. We're going home. Jacks, take this. "

Jackie caught the yellow button that would transport them to and from worlds, but shook her head, " But they're destroying the city! "

" I'd forgotten you could argue," Pete said, affection clear in his voice, " but it's not just London - it's the entire world. " He took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him, " but there's another world, just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe. As long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor? "

The Doctor suddenly turned away from the window, wearing his 3-D glasses, and grinning at them broadly. Lily watched him carefully, wondering what he was up to.

" Oh, I'm ready," the Doctor cried gleefully, " I've got the equipment right here, thank you Torchwood! Slam it down and close both universes off. "

" But we can't just leave," Rose said, " what about the Daleks? The Cybermen? "

The Doctor continued to grin, " They're part of the problem - and that makes them part of the solution. Well - isn't anyone going to ask?! What is it with the glasses? "

Rose laughed nervously, " What is it with the glasses? " she asked, as she and Lily edged forwards curiously.

The Doctor whipped off the glasses and pressed them onto Rose's face, " I can see! That's what! Cos we've got two seperate worlds, but in-between we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here. And you lot - one world to the other, via the void. Oh, I like that. Via the Void. "

He looked down at Rose, who was peering through the glasses carefully, " Well," the Doctor said, " I've been through the void. And so have you. Void stuff. Background radiation - look at them all! " He pointed at everyone, " the only one who hasn't been through the void - your mother. First time she's looked normal in her life. "

He took the glasses from Rose and tossed them to Lily, who caught them easily and slipped them on. She looked around and saw the particles which clung to everyone who'd been through the void.

The Doctor looked from Rose to Lily with a grin, " The Daleks lived in the void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen too. I just open the void, and the void stuff gets sucked back in. "

" Pulling them all in! " Lily grinned.

" Pulling them all in," nodded Rose ethusiastically.

" Sorry - what's going on - what's the void? " Mickey asked.

" Keep up," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes, " the dead space. Some people call it Hell. "

Mickey threw his yellow button around his neck, " So, you're sending the Daleks and the Cybermen to Hell," over his shoulder, to Jake, he added, " I told you he was good. "

Lily had suddenly realised the plan. The flaw in the plan - they would all be sucked in too. She realised what the clamps were for - the stick them to the wall and stop them from getting sucked in. The others would transport themselves home to their world. Lily looked at the Doctor sharply when she realised he was going to send Rose away.

The Doctor looked up at her and met her eyes for a moment before looking away. In that moment, Lily knew that he was going to send Rose away, and he knew he was going to regret it, and it would hurt him, but he was going to do it anyway.

Then Rose had started to figure some of it out too, " But," she said slowly, " like you said - we've all got void stuff. Me too, when we went to the parallel world. We're all contaminated. We're all going to get sucked in. "

" That's why you've got to go," the Doctor said quickly, before turning away without looking at her properly, though she started at him in disbelief, " right," he continued quickly, " Back to Pete's world. Hey, we should call it that - Pete's World. "

He sighed and looked around before his eyes finally settled on Rose, " I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on the other side. "

" Then you close it for good? " Pete asked, as Rose continued to stare at the Doctor, and Lily watched with discomfort.

The Doctor nodded, " The breach itself is soaked in Void stuff, so in the end it'll close itself up. And that's it. Kaput. "

Rose gasped, just starting to understand it, " But you'll stay on this side? "

" You'll get pulled in," Mickey said.

" What about me? " Lily asked, " what am I doing? "

The Doctor ran to the desk and grabbed the clamps, holding them up, " That's why I got these. I'll just have to hold on tight - I've been doing it all my life. " He stopped and looked at Lily, " you're sticking with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Do you really think I'm going to let you go to some other world with no-one to keep an eye on you? Youre my daughter, and I'm not letting you go, not knowing you're safe. "

Lily nodded, " Yeah. You and me. " She knew it would be too hurtful for her to go to the other world where Jack was happy with someone else

Rose still stood there, looking like she'd been slapped, and Lily had to feel very sorry for her. Rose stared, " I'm supposed to go? "

" Yeah," the Doctor said simply.

" To another world, and then it gets sealed off? "

" Yeah," the Doctor said, though he clearly didn't want to talk about it.

" Forever? " Rose asked, before laughing to herself, " well, that's not going to happen. "

There was a crash from outside of the building, causing everyone to stare and look around at each other, wondering what was going to happen next. Pete sighed and looked at Rose, " We haven't got time to argue - the plan works so we go. That includes you, too. _All _of us. "

" No! " Rose snapped angrily, " I'm not leaving him! "

" Then I won't go without Rose," Jackie said.

" Oh my god," Pete groaned, " we're _going! "_

" I've had twenty years without you," said Jackie with a snap, " so button it. I'm not leaving my daughter! You can't ask me to leave her - she's my daughter. I need her! "

" Mum, you've got to go! " Rose told her mother.

" Well, that's tough! " shouted Jackie.

" Mum," Rose said, trying again, much softer this time, as her eyes filled with tears, " I've had a life with you for 19 years. But then I met the Doctor, and ... all the things I've seen him do for me. For you. For all of us. For the whole ... stupid planet, and every planet out there. He does it alone Mum. Well, there's Lily, but ... other than that ... it's just him. "

Lily felt awful when she saw the pain on both Rose, and on the Doctor's face. The Doctor was watching Rose with such sorrow in his eyes, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow button on a chain.

" But not anymore," said Rose quietly, stepping backwards, away from Jackie and towards the Doctor, " because now he's got me. "

The Doctor looped the chain around Rose's neck, and Rose looked around at him in alarm, " What are you - ? "

She didn't finish her sentence because Pete grabbed her at the shoulders and pressed the button. The others all pressed their buttons, leaving before Rose had a chance to argue.

Lily looked at the spots where they'd all gone from. It was odd seeing Jack leave, but she knew it wasn't right - he wasn't hers. Rose however, was definitley the Doctor's.

Lily looked sideways at her Dad, and saw the way he stared at the spot Rose had stood in a mere moment before. His eyes were filled with tears and he looked as though nothing could ever be right again.

Lily didn't know what to do, and she reached out and laid a hand on the Doctor's arm, " Dad," she said quietly, though she didn't know what to add on the end of it.

The Doctor looked at her, as if only just realising he wasn't alone. His eyes were filled with tears and Lily felt awful - she had no idea what to do. The Doctor sniffed and squeezed Lily's hand, before dropping it. They both looked at the spot, before the Doctor turned away. There was a quiet crack, and Lily found herself staring at Rose.

She looked at her friend in suprise, and Rose grinned, " I wasn't going to leave you. "

The Doctor spun around and started, stunned. There was a pause, before the Doctor crossed the room in three long strides. He grabbed Rose roughly by the shoulders and stopped slightly to look her in the eye, talking loudly, as if trying to drum some sense into her, " Once the breach collapses, that it! You will never be able to see her again. You own mother! "

Rose shook her head, and remained calm, " I made my choice a long time ago, and I am never going to leave you! "

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, stunned, before releasing Rose and turning away, as if unable to deal with the decision.

" So what can I do to help? " Rose asked.

The Doctor nodded carefully, pointing to a computer, " Those co-ordinates over there, set them all at six. "

Rose did as he was told, and the Doctor watched her furiously, while Rose glanced nervously at him.

Lily stood at the Doctor's side and touched his arm lightly, " Don't be mad at Rose," she said quietly, as he turned to look at her.

" She should have stayed with her family," the Doctor said, " she'll never be able to see them again. "

" Don't be so stupid," said Lily, shaking her head, " Rose knows perfectly well what choice she's made, but she's made it now. You should have known she wouldn't stay away. She ... you and her ... " she looked over at Rose, and then lowered her voice even more, " you're perfect for each other. Why can't you see that? "

The Doctor nodded, " I can," he said, " I do. But ... it ... it isn't the priority right now. I have to get rid of these creatures. "

" Tell her you love her," Lily said simply.

The Doctor looked at her with a smile before nodding, " I will. Soon. But first, to save the world. "

" Doctor! " Rose shouted, " we've got company! Cybermen! "

" How many floors down? " the Doctor asked with worry.

" Only one," Rose replied, as all three gathered around the screen.

Lily sighed, " Dad, you've got to do something, quickly. "

The Doctor nodded and ran off to the other computer, fiddling with it, while Rose and Lily looked at each other. Lily smiled at her friend, " I'm glad you came back. "

" Me too," Rose said, " now you don't you worry - he can do anything, yeah? "

Lily nodded and the Doctor laughed from the other end of the room, " There we are! " he called, " communications set! All ready! Almost there! "

He grabbed the two clamps and dumped one in Rose's arms.

" We need to attach these to each side of the wall," he said to her, " you go over there, and I'll put mine at the other end, beside each of the levers, right? "

Rose did as she was told, and Lily couldn't help but wonder what she was going to do - how she was going to hold on, if the Doctor and Rose had a clamp each.

The Doctor looked at both of the girls, " Now, when the breach opens and the whole thing starts, you have to hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us, but the Daleks and Cybermen are covered in Void Stuff. Are you ready? "

" What about me? " Lily asked, as both Rose and the Doctor went to stand by their clamps.

The Doctor frowned, as though he hadn't thought about that yet, " Ah," he said slowly, " yeah, about that ... you're going to have to share a clamp with one of us, I suppose. Share Rose's - you're both smaller than I am. "

" Let's do it," Rose nodded.

Daleks appeared at the window, and it seemed that everyone was ready. They pushed their levers up and all three grabbed hold of the clamps, clamped tightly to the wall.

The area was suddenly filled with a bright white light, and a very strong wind rushed through the room. The Daleks were sucked through the windows, smashing the glass right off as they were pulled towards the blinding white light - pulling them towards the void and back into the void. Rose and Lily exchanged excited looks that the plan was working, as they held on fast.

The Doctor grinned triumphantly, and the girls grinned back, until the lever on Rose's side snapped off, and the plan was no longer working - both levers had to be upright for the plan to work, and the void to be opened and suck eveyrthing back in.

" Get it upright! " the Doctor shouted loudly.

Rose was closer to the lever than Lily, so she tried to reach for it whilst keeping her grip on the clamp. She was just slightly too far away, and strained to reach it, losing her grip on the clamp and falling onto the lever, pulling it upright.

Lily screamed Rose's name and offered out her hand, trying to stretch and get Rose to reach for her. The Daleks continued to be sucked into the void, and Lily struggled to reach for Rose. Rose had nothing to hold on to but the lever, and there was no way she could quite reach for Lily.

" Hold on! " the Doctor shouted at Rose, as Lily continued to wave around her hand, to reach for Rose.

The void was pulling at Rose, making it difficult for Rose to hold on. She winced and cried out with effort, and both Lily and the Doctor screamed and shouted at Rose to hold on, both watching with hearts in their mouths, fearing for what they knew was about to happen, but didn't want to accept.

" Hold on! " the Doctor screamed as loud as he could.

Rose moaned, and with the last scraps of her energy failing her, her fingers slipped away. Crying out, she was pulled towards the void, while Lily and the Doctor reached out to try and help, though there was nothing at all they could do.

At the last moment before Rose reached the breach, Pete appeared and caught Rose in his arms. Rose only had time to look over her shoulder at the Doctor, before Pete pressed the button around his neck, and took the pair of them away. Lily stared at the spot in shock, breathing heavily as the breach closed and the wind died down, leaving the place horribly silent.

When both knew it was completely safe, Lily and the Doctor let go of the clamps and got to their feet slowly.

Lily stared at the wall where the place had closed up, and she didn't know what to do. Another friend - such a good friend to them - lost. She ran a hand through her hair slowly, and her eyes filled with tears - Rose might be safe with those in the other world, but ... but she wasn't here.

They needed Rose - Rose was good for them. Her Dad loved Rose like he'd never loved anyone else - like she'd never seen him love anyone. And now, as she looked over at him, she saw that he was completely empty. His eyes were hollow, and she didn't know what to do, what to say.

She felt so powerless and so unable to do anything at all, as she watched her broken father walk slowly up to the wall, laying one palm flat against it, and resting his head there, eyes full of tears.

Lily stood watching him for what felt like such a long time.

Finally, she broke the horrible silence in the room.

" Dad," she said quietly, walking towards him.

The Doctor slid his hand down the wall, and turned away slowly, turning to face his daughter.

Lily saw the look on his face and sighed sadly, " Dad," she said again.

The Doctor reached out his arms and clung to his daughter - one of the rare times that he held her close to him because _he _needed someone. Usually, it was because she wanted comfort, and he wanted to help her. But now he needed someone, and he needed his daughter.

As he held her tightly and clung to her, he said, " Just you and me then. "

Lily nodded," Odd, how things turn out," she said.

" Awful, I think you mean," the Doctor corrected, letting go of her slowly, and looking at her with his sorrowful eyes, " I've just lost the woman I was meant to spent the rest of my life with. Nothing's every going to be the same. "

Lily sighed, " First me and Jack. Now you and Rose. But you know what a wise man once said to me? Everything will be ok in the end; if it's not ok, then it's not the end. You've gotta keep telling yourself that. "

The Doctor nodded, and there was a pause, during which a determination set on his face, " There's something I can do," he said quietly, " If I set the co-ordinates just right ... if I can do this ... just ... I can say goodbye. "

" You can? " Lily asked quickly.

The Doctor nodded, " Let's get back to the TARDIS. I can do it from in there - I think it should work. "

With that, he ran off through the ruined building and avoided pieces of wrack and ruin in the middle of the floor as he ran. Lily followed, her trench coat throwing out behind her as she moved. She felt awful as she saw the devastation through the building - there were bodies that the Cybermen and Daleks had left behind, bodies of the people they killed, pieces of the building, and no sign of anyone alive.

When they made it back to the TARDIS, the Doctor stopped at the door and turned back to look at Lily, " Give me about ten minutes, this is a bit complicated to set up," he said simply, " I'll set this up and call you when it's time to go. "

" You don't want my help? " Lily asked.

The Doctor shook his head a little, " I can do this. I have to do this for her. "

Lily understood completely, and she stood in the ruined room as she looked around. She couldn't work out where Torchwood was going to go from here, and how the people who's lives had been ruined by this battle would carry on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a whimper from the other side of the room.

" Hello? " she called, crossing the room and looking around carefully.

Eventually, she found the source of the noise. Under a piece of rubble, a man was sitting on the ground, his jaw slack as he looked around, slumped against the wall. There was a piece of debris over one of his legs, and he cried out in pain.

Lily knelt by his side and laid a hand on his face, lifting his head from his chest and getting him to look up at her. She was suprised by what she saw - a young man, pale, rather good looking, though there was a cut down his face and he looked sorrowful.

" Ianto Jones? " she asked quietly.

The young man looked at her in suprise, " You know my name? " he asked through a whimper,' but I don't know you. How do you know my name? "

She smiled comfortingly, " Calm down - you're alright," she told him, " as for your name - let's just say, I had a hunch. My name's Lily, by the way. "

" Lily," he repeated, " are you here to help me? "

She nodded, " You work at Torchwood? "

" Jones. Ianto Jones, Junior Archivist," he told her, as she laid a hand on the hunk of rubbish on his leg and looked up at him. She told him to brace himself, and in one swift motion, she pulled it away and tossed it aside, thankful that there was no blood in sight.

" Well," Lily continued, " if you work here, Jones Ianto Jones, you'll know about it's history. About the Doctor. And the Doctor's Daughter. " He nodded and she smiled in a satisfied sort of way, " that's me," she told him, " The Doctor's Daughter. And me and my dad just saved the world ... yet again. "

Ianto - not a parallel Ianto, a real Ianto Jones - stared in disbelief, " The Doctor? You two are legendary. It's an honour to meet you. I've heard all sorts of stories about you, and now here you are ... talking to someone as ordinary as me. "

Lily shook her head, " Not ordinary - not you. You, Ianto Jones, are something special, I know it. Are you alright, by the way? I know people are on their way to help. You'll be alright. "

Ianto shook his head, " Lisa - my girlfriend - she's around here somewhere. I don't know where - I have to find her. "

" I think you should stay here until you know you're alright," she told him.

Ianto shook his head again, and tried to stand up.

" Well, at least let me help you," Lily said, reaching out and putting an arm around him, helping him to his feet. He stood up carefully - he was battered and bruised, and his mind was a mess, but he was otherwise in decent enough shape to look after himself.

Lily put her hands on her hips and looked around at the place, " It's a right mess, isn't it? " she asked, " and that puts you out of a job, too. What are you going to do next? Do Torchwood have other branches you could work for? "

Ianto looked at her with a slight smile - this was something he hadn't thought about before, " Yeah, actually. There's a branch in Scotland, but apparently the man there is very odd - don't fancy going there. Cardiff however ... I could go _there._ Small team, run by some guy named Ca-"

The door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor stuck his head around, " We can go now. "

Lily grinned, " Great! " Turning back to Ianto she said, " It was a pleasure to meet you, Ianto Jones. Now you go get that girl, right? "

Ianto nodded, and Lily grinned wider before turning away and jogging to the other end of the room. She was at the other end of the room when Ianto called out, " Hey! Thanks Miss ... "

" Smith, I suppose, if you must be so formal about it," Lily grinned, " or ... maybe Harkness. I quite like that. Lily Harkness. See you later. "

With that, she disappeared into the TARDIS. Ianto stood there and thought about it - Harkness? That couldn't be -? " Hey! Lily! That wouldn't be any relation to - "

But he broke off. The TARDIS was already leaving, and she hadn't heard his last few words. He shrugged to himself and went off in search of Lisa.

Inside the TARDIS, Lily looked at the Doctor, " So? What's the plan? "

The Doctor looked at her, quickly looking at the console too, " There's a tiny little gap left in the universe before the breach closes for good. I've focused all of the energy, and I've just enough time and power to send a projection of myself from inside the TARDIS to Rose. I need this time to say a goodbye to her. "

Lily nodded. She understood completely - they were in love and they needed the time to say goodbye. She couln't deny anyone that chance.

" Give her my love," lily said, making for the double doors, " I'll leave you to it - you need to see godbye, and you don't need me in the way. "

" Thank you," the Doctor said quietly, " Just give me five minutes, and that'll be all. "

Lily nodded, " You could have as much time as you like," she said, leaving him to it with a pitiful smile as she left the console room, silently wishing him good luck for his last goodbye to the woman he loved but had just lost.

Lily left the room and went to sit quietly in the library for a while, picking up her favourite book - Pride and Prejudice. Of all of the books in the world, Pride and Prejudice was by far the best.

Five minutes later, Lily put down the book, wondering if the Doctor and Rose had said their goodbyes. She sighed - the loss of someone else. Not good. She had no idea how they were going to move on from here.

She was still broken and grieving from Jack's death, and now he was going to be starting in the same place she had been after Jack's death - but his with loss of Rose. The pair of them were now screwed.

She hurried back to the control room, knowing her Dad would need her.

As she entered the room, she saw him stood there, alone.

" Dad," she muttered, " how did it go? "

He sighed, reaching out and taking her in his arms, grabbing her and holding her tightly, needing her comfort once again, " I got my goodbye," he said, " and now I'll never see her again. It was on Bad Wolf Bay, for god's sake - how's that for coincidence? Oh, Jackie's pregnant, too. They're all happy ... well, happy as they can be, but they're settling in. I ended up six months after we got split up. She told me she loves me. "

He sniffed and clung to her tighter, burying his face in her hair, " I was going to say it back, but ... " he sobbed, " I ran out of time. I got as far as her name, and then we got cut off. I never got the chance to tell her how I feel. "

It just so happened that Lily had never had chance to tell Jack those three words either - not until she found his dead body anyway. " Oh Dad," she said softly, " she knew. She absolutely knows how you feel. She does. "

The Doctor didn't reply, only let go of her, but not before kissing her cheek and touching her hair lightly, " Oh, Lily," he said, " it's just you and me. I'm ... I'm never going to let you go, you know. I need you right now. "

" I'm not going anywhere," Lily told him, " I need you. You need me. It's just us again. "

The Doctor nodded and rubbed a hand over his eyes, wiping the tears away. He took a single deep breath before turning his attention to the TARDIS console, walking slowly around it, without any of the enthusiasm that he usually had. His whole purpose seemed to be gone, and he was completely empty. Meanwhile, she had no Jack.

It was just how things had been before - the two of them. Though this time they were both empty and had lost their loves.

*****

**Author's Note: There we are - Doomsday finished. **

**I'm not going to do Runaway Bride - I'm going to go from here to series three and do a few of the episodes from there, before the big reunion, and whatever happens after that.**

**Series 3 will be put as a seperate story which is going to be available from my profile. I will post a note on the end of this story when the next one is up on my profile.**


	15. Jack and Ianto

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Author's Note: Just thought I'd add in an extra chapter because there hasn't been anything from Jack for a while and I thought it'd be good to catch up to where he is. And to say what happened to Ianto after Doomsday.**

Chapter Fifteen

_Cardiff. 2006. _

It had been 137 years, Jack mused as he sat alone in his office. He was having one of those days when all he could do was think about Lily.

After he'd realised he was going to be stuck on planet Earth until he could find Lily and the Doctor, he was determined to track them down. Realising he was immortal had only made him more determined - it had in fact given him more hope. If he had forever to live, then he had an excellent chance of finding her one day. Not to mention finding the Doctor and getting some answers.

Jack had spent years travelling around and asking anyone he saw if they knew of Lily and the Doctor, though of course they never did.

And then came Torchwood.

It was strange, he thought, how he had started off hating them and now he was their leader.

When Alice and Emily first captured him, and forced him to work for them, he hated everything Torchwood stood for - shooting any aliens who came along, without even stopping to think about how to help them, and if they actually _were _threats at all.

He knew Lily would be apalled by it, and sometimes he hated himself for getting involved at all. There were many times when he imagined finding that amazing woman he'd never stop loving, only for her to reject him because he was a killer. But he needed the job for money. And he always thought if he stayed close to an organisation who were founded because of the last time lords, he'd have a much greater chance of finding them.

As time passed, Jack grew more and more frustrated that he didn't have his girl yet, but he'd sworn he wouldn't give up, and he was going to stick to that.

There were times when he found some other girl that he liked and then felt instantly guilty because he had Lily. It didn't matter he hadn't seen her in years.

Leaning back in his desk chair, Jack closed his eyes, thinking some more. The moment he became in charge of Torchwood Three, that awful moment that Alex killed the team and himself, everything changed.

Torchwood had always been something he did freelance until something else came along, but now he was right in there and he was in charge. He had realised then that this was his chance to take Torchwood and change it into something he could be proud of, rather than something he hated.

So that was what he did. Over the next few years, he started severing ties with the other branches of Torchwood and gathering team members, to turn Torchwood into a place Lily and the Doctor would approve of. All for her.

It was hardest to deal with when he knew she was on Earth with the Doctor, but not at the time he could go to them. The hardest one was in Cardiff 2005, the whole Boom Town thing.

The team - Suzie, Owen and Toshiko - were all panicking, but Jack told them not to do anything, because he knew that above them someone else was solving it. He watched on the CCTV as it all happened - where Rose, Mickey, the Doctor, Lily and another version of himself were trying to stop Margaret the Slitheen.

He watched as Lily and himself stood outside by the bay, drinking champagne. He watched their first kiss with pain, and wanted to go up there and grab her. Even though that would mess everything else up. He almost didn't care.

Now, he opened his eyes and reached out to open one of the desk drawers. Then he pulled out the only picture he had of her. It was of her standing outside a school, and he'd taken it from a newspaper several months ago.

There had been strange things going on at a school in London, and before Torchwood could get there, news broke that everything had been solved, with the aid of two new teachers. Jack had been shocked to see a photograph of Lily standing with a man he could only assume was a regeneration of the Doctor. What shocked him even more was the caption: Teachers John Smith and Lily Harkness.

He'd been thrilled at the sign of them, and even more thrilled that she'd given his name as her own, even if it was just as a one-off alias. He knew she would never have forgotten him. He'd been crushed when he rushed to the school and found they'd already left, but he knew at that point that someday soon, he'd find her, because she hadn't forgotten him.

He smiled slightly as he looked at the picture. He thought about the recent battle at Canary Wharf - he'd seen Rose's name listed amongst the dead, so Lily and the Doctor had to have been there too. He wished he'd been there too, but with Cybermen and Daleks everywhere, there was no way the team could have gotten to London to help. Once again, he'd just missed her.

A sharp knock at his office door made him lay the picture on the desk, face down, as the door swung open. His team didn't need to know about her. He'd sometimes made references to her, and between them, they'd pieced together that he was looking for a girl he once knew, but they knew nothing else. He hadn't told them who she was, or how he knew her, or anything.

" I'm off to Starbucks across the plass, Tosh said I should ask if you wanted anything," announced the team's young Doctor.

Jack nodded, " Yeah. Coffee. "

Owen nodded and left, and Jack was left thinking that he didn't really want Starbuck's coffee. Right now, he'd take that god awful coffee that Lily couldn't make to save her life.

***

Ianto meanwhile, had also lost the person who meant the most to him.

Lisa was now half Cyberman and he had to do something to help her. He'd stabilised her for now, but she needed to be somewhere else, and he needed another job.

He thought of what the Doctor's daughter had suggested during their very brief meeting - going to another branch of Torchwood. He decided right there and then that he was going to track down Captain Jack Harkness and demand that the man let him have a job.

***

A week later, Jack strode into the Torchwood hub with a very annoyed expression on his face.

" What's the matter? " Suzie asked, noticing him first.

Jack rolled his eyes as he shrugged out of his coat, " That boy again, wanting a job. He just accosted me outside - he's desperate for any job. "

" Then why not give him one? " Suzie suggested.

" Beause we're not hiring," Jack said.

Suzie folded her arms, " Look, it's obvious that the boy isn't going to go away, and you said he already worked for Torchwood One. He could be an asset. "

" We don't need anyone," Jack said simply.

As he walked towards his office, he thought about his words. He was wrong - he needed someone, but not that welsh boy. He needed Lily. Though the welsh boy was fairly good looking.

Then he could have slapped himself - it didn't matter how good looking the welsh boy was. He wasn't Lily.

***

Three days later, Jack was stood in hub's kitchen with his newest member of staff.

He was partly annoyed at himself for having given in, but he knew it was the right decision. Ianto Jones had proved himself to the kind of person who might be right for Torchwood.

When he stood in front of the car and demanded that Jack help him capture a pterodactyl, Jack had no other option. After capturing the damn thing, there was something ... something between them. He had no other option than to give Ianto a job. The boy could be useful - even if it was just to feed the new pet.

Ianto turned around and handed Jack a mug of coffee.

" There you are, sir. "

Jack took it and had a sip. He looked up at Ianto and allowed the corners of his mouth to curl up into a smile, " That's good," he said, " we always said we needed someone who could make a good cup to coffee. "

" We? " Ianto asked, " you and the rest of the team? "

Jack shrugged, " Something like that. "

***

Jack had to agree that Ianto was an asset to the team, if only for his coffee making skills.

But as time went by, they became something of friends and started to talk more.

There was one day in particular when the day was quiet and they were standing in the kitchen with a drink each, when Ianto made a passing comment which definitley caught Jack's attention.

" Say," Ianto started, " I've been meaning to ask you - just after the battle was over, I met someone. She had your surname, and I was wondering if you knew her - Lily Harkness. "

Jack could have dropped his cup - Lily again. With his name, again.

He didn't have time to think, he just spoke right away, " I might know her. What was she like? What did she look like? You spoke to her? "

Ianto seemed taken aback by Jack's reaction, but nodded anyway, " I was injured and she came over to try and help. I probably wouldn't have remembered her if she hadn't given me the idea to come here. And if she wasn't such a huge part of Torchwood's history - she said she was the Doctor's daughter. "

Jack frowned in confusion, " Lily told you to find _me? "_

" Not exactly," Ianto corrected, " she just suggested I find another branch of Torchwood. Funny, I was about to say your name but then we got interrupted. Then I almost said it again, but they'd left. "

Jack ran a hand across his forehead and sighed. Again, so close. He wondered what she knew about him - did she think him lost? Dead? He hated to think of what she must have gone through without him - he was sure she thought him dead, because otherwise, she would have come looking for him. And now she'd taken his name instead of her own name - not that Smith had ever actually been her surname, but she'd always used it.

" Are you alright, sir? " Ianto asked, " I was just curious - I didn't mean to - "

" I'm fine," Jack said, " Lily is ... I knew Lily a long time ago, but we got seperated. Been looking for her ever since but I can never find her in time. It's been over a century, and sometimes I think I'll never find her. "

Ianto frowned - a century? That couldn't be. He didn't question it, but instead said, " She's your wife? "

To Ianto's suprise, Jack laughed, " No. No, we never made it that far. Never even told each other we loved one another. Well, I did, but she never heard," he paused, taking a deep breath and trying to shake off the negative thoughts. He drew himself up to full height and told Ianto he had work to do, before heading for his office.

Pulling the door shut behind him, Jack was once again absorbed in thoughts of Lily.

He was going to find her soon because he needed her.


	16. Note

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Note**

**Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and alerted this story and everything. It means a lot that people like this story enough to take time out to read it, and to encourage me.**

**The sequel to this is up now, and is available from my profile. It is called **_**The Continued Adventures of the Doctor and his Daughter, **_**because one again, I couldn't think of a better title and I've fallen into a pattern (The Adventures, The Next Adventures, The Continued Adventures)**

**This starts in series 3 and will follow the series, but not every single episode. What happens after series three will depend on how I feel in a bit, and how the readers decide things should go.**

**Hope everyone likes the next story as much as they've liked this one and the first one, and as much as I enjoy writing it.**


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